Bodyguard
by lady-warrioress
Summary: Dinobot is unwillingly ordered to be the bodyguard of a human girl but he soon finds out she's more trouble than she's worth. Will he learn to tolerate her or will he wind up killing her before then? Please read and review
1. Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1

**Riiiiiiiiiing!!!**

The school bell rang signaling the end of another school day. Yume stopped doodling on her algebra paper and quickly gathered her books together, being sure to stow the doodle in the back pocket of her backpack. She quickly made her way out of the classroom and into the hall before the teacher could call to her to stay. She headed to her locker and stowed her books in it then locked the door and headed outside. She was in a hurry to get home and finish the sketches she was working on for something in art class as well as finishing the math homework she forgot to do the night before and that night's as well.

She headed down the front steps and made her way down the sidewalk as fast as she could. She knew she had to hurry before her tormentors, the three people that always seemed to think it was their duty in life to make her miserable, figured out where she was. She decided to take the shortcut through the park and turned left at the end of the block, looking both ways before she crossed the street. Once there she walked for a bit then looked around to make sure she hadn't been followed. She hadn't. She sighed in relief and stopped in her tracks.

_They won't find me here... _she thought, sitting down on a bench by the fountain and pulling out her sketch book.

She flipped to the picture she'd been working on, pulled out her pencil, and started to finish the sketch, trying her best to remember all the details. "All I have to do is-"

"Working on your lame art again, nerd?" a voice demanded.

Yuma looked up from her sketch and found herself staring into the faces of her three tormentors, Samantha, Paris, and Lenore, three blond preppies who thought they were the best looking girls in the whole school. Yume thought they looked like plastic clones. "What do you guys want?" she demanded, glaring up at the three girls.

"What's that?" Paris asked, snatching the sketch away from Yume and looking at it. "What the hell? This_ thing _is ugly! What is it supposed to be?"

"It's a robot!" Yume replied, getting up and trying to grab the sketch back. "Now give it back!"

Paris held it just out of her reach. "What kind of robot?" she asked, turning the page upside down. "It looks like it's trying to be a dinosaur."

"It's a dinosaur droid!!" Yume exclaimed. "That's why!"

"What's a dinosaur droid?" Lenore asked.

"Nothing you three have ever heard of," the girl replied, getting her hand on the edge of the pad and pulling it toward herself. "Now_ let go_!"

Paris didn't loosen her grip on the book and Yume heard a loud riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiip before she fell back, holding the bottom half of the picture she'd been drawing. She looked at the picture, only spotting legs. "Now look what you've done!" she exclaimed.

"Serves you right," Paris sniffed, tossing the rest of the pad at the girl's feet. "You shouldn't have tried to pull it away." The girls turned to go. "See you around, loser."

Yume held back tears as she picked up the pad and fitted the ripped part back onto the paper. "I'm going to have to fix this when I get home," she said, standing up and stuffing the sketchbook into her backpack. She brushed a strand of black hair out of her gray eyes and started walking, stepping into the small wooded pathed area to get out of the sun and away from anyone before they could see her cry.

"Why do they have to be that way?" she asked, wiping her eyes as she leaned against a tree. "I never did anything to them and they constantly have to get on my case about things I like! Maybe it's because most things I like are considered something only _guys _would like. Well that's not true. _Girls_ can like robots too!" She wiped her eyes again then pushed herself away from the tree, telling herself that she really needed to get home.

Re-adjusting the strap on her backpack she headed down the path, not really paying attention to where she was going. Suddenly her black booted foot hit something and she was sent sprawling. "Ow!" she wailed, landing on her stomach. "That hurt." she pushed herself into a sitting position. "What was that?" she looked over her shoulder and saw something metallic glittering under the dirt. "Huh? What's that?" she sat up and started unearthing the object. She picked it up and took a look at it.

It looked like some sort of metal cube. It was a shiny black color and one side held a small red button like object. It reminded her of a rubix cube. "Who would bury such a thing here?" she asked herself out loud. "I wonder if some kids decided to play scavenger hunt." she looked around and chuckled to herself. "I think I'll ruin their fun."

She started to put the cube in her backpack when her finger accidentally pushed in the red button. She heard a beeping sound and felt the cube whirring in her hand. She froze then brought the thing back to her face. The cube was suddenly glowing in different colors. _What in the world? _

Suddenly a void in space seemed to open and, before Yume could do anything or move, she was sucked in and darkness overtook her.

* * *

When Yume opened her eyes she found herself in a strange environment. It looked nothing like the park where she'd been standing only a few minutes ago. The trees were too tall and close together. _Where am I? _she thought, sitting up and looking around. _What happened? How did I get here? _Her eyes fell on the rubix cube looking item she'd unearthed in the park. It glowed with a bluish light then went dark, returning to its normal colors and features. "What in the world?" she reached down and picked it up, giving the item a good look. It seemed like a normal rubix cube to her, minus the colors. _But why did it glow like that and why did it distort everything and bring me here? _she looked around herself again. "Where am I anyway? The Redwood Forest in California?" she stood up and pulled her backpack back on, which lay on the grass beside her. "I guess I'd better get going. If I find a clearing maybe I'll try to call home and see if anyone can come get me or something..." she started walking.

About a half hour later she exited the forest and found herself staring at a strange landscape. "What in the world?" she exclaimed, staring at the geography. "Did I land in the Savannah?" she looked around herself a little slower and spotted snow capped mountains as well as an ocean far off in the distance. These things told her she wasn't in Africa or anywhere near it. "But where am I really?" she asked herself. "And how did I get here?" she looked at the object in her hand. "Was I abducted by aliens?"

Suddenly a screeching sound from above startled her out of her thoughts. She looked into the sky and spotted a giant red dinosaur-like bird flying above her. "What the heck?!" she exclaimed. "_Dinosaurs_!?"The dinosaur spotted her and something strange suddenly happened to it. It seemed to change form and took on a more metallic shape. "WHAT THE HECK?! _Robot_ dinosaurs?!"

The robot dino let out another screeching sound and Yume spotted two red bolts of light coming at her. Before she could figure out what they were, the bolts hit the ground at her feet and exploded, sending her sailing through the air. She screamed until she landed on her stomach on the ground, the wind being knocked out of her. She grabbed her stomach and gasped for air as she sat up, looking into the sky for the robot. _That thing shot at me! _She spotted two more bolts of light coming toward her and scrambled to her feet, getting out of their way as fast as she could.

The ground behind her exploded and she was once again sent sailing. This time she landed behind some rocks that served as protection from the fire power for the moment. She sighed and pushed herself back to her feet, only to find herself face to face with a giant wasp!

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!" she screamed, scrambling backward as fast as she could. "Mutant bee!"

"Mutant bee? Where?" the wasp said, looking back and forth. "Waspinator sees no bee."

"Oh my god! A _talking_ bee!" she exclaimed, jumping to her feet and running. "I gotta get out of here!"

"Wait!" the wasp called to her. "Waspinator wants to know where bee is!" she heard a metallic noise behind her and looked over her shoulder just in time to see the big wasp turn into a robot.

She screamed again and ran faster. "This is insane!" she exclaimed. "Robotic flying dinosaurs! Giant talking wasp robots! What next? Talking _spider_ robots?!"

"I don't know," said a voice to her left. The girl looked over to a rock formation and spotted a giant magenta and yellow tarantula climbing on the rocks. "What would you do if you saw one?" then that bug transformed _too_!

"Oh my god!" she gasped.

The spider robot laughed then shot something at her.

The girl screamed and ducked, avoiding the thing he'd shot at her by inches. She looked in the direction it had gone and spotted a blue and white spider web stuck to a rock. Only one conclusion came to mind at that. "IT'S GONNA EAT ME!" she shrieked, changing course. "I gotta get out of here!"

She jumped over some rocks and started running in a different direction. She heard that flying robot dinosaur screeching something above her and looked back just in time to see the robots vaulting over the rocks she'd just jumped over. "What's _with_ these things?" she asked herself out loud. "Don't they have something else to do?" she looked around for a place to hide.

Suddenly the ground came to an end and Yume stopped just in time to avoid falling off a cliff. "Whoa!" she exclaimed, flailing her arms to keep her balance. "That's some drop!"

She heard that robot bird again and looked back the way she had come. The three insane robots were closing in and the girl had nowhere to run. "Oh crap," she moaned, looking around for options. "What am I going to do now?"

The robots were getting closer. She really didn't want to get shot at by them or eaten by the spider but what was she going to do? She looked down at the drop again then back at the robots, weighing her options. Get her guts sucked out by a robot spider or fall to her death? If it wasn't her she probably wouldn't have chosen the latter. She looked at the robots one last time then took a deep breath, turned around, and jumped!

How long she fell she didn't know but just when she thought she'd fall forever she landed on something. Something that let out a pained sound when her weight was added to it. Yume froze for a moment, gasping for breath and surprised that she was still alive then opened one eye. A big white eye with a cat pupil stared into her own. A tiny scream escaped her throat and she moved her head back. Now she saw that the owner of the eye was a raptor!

The girl screamed loud and long. The raptor made another sound and jerked violently. Yume fell off its back and when her rear hit the ground she scrambled backward using her feet and elbows until her back ran into a rock and she couldn't go back anymore. She stared in fear at the raptor as it seemed to get over being deafened and stared over at her. Her heart almost stopped at the piercing glare it shot at her.

Then. It spoke! "What in the infernal are _you_?!" it demanded in a growly, demonic sounding voice.

"Oh my god!" she exclaimed, putting a hand over her heart. "It can _talk _too!"

The raptor seemed to be unable to think of anything to say to that. Instead it demanded again. "What are you?" and this time when it demanded this it got closer, looming over her.

"I....," the girl stammered, her heart pounding in her chest. "I... I-'m a g-girl...."

"A girl?!" it said, giving her another piercing look. "You...." it stopped a moment then came to a conclusion. "You are a human are you not?" it asked in a tone that made it sound like he was stating fact instead of asking a question.

"Y... yes," she said.

"What is a human doing_ here_?" the raptor asked itself, seemingly ignoring her a moment. "It is not time for them to be..." he looked back at her. "How did you get here?"

"I.... Don't eat me!" she exclaimed when its face got too close.

"Eat you?!" it exclaimed, giving her a look that made her think it thought she was stupid. "I am _not_ going to eat you, fool!" it made a snarling sound and its face got even closer.

Yume flinched and closed her eyes, putting her arms over her head to protect herself. _Just perfect! I made it mad!  
_A clawed hand wrapped around her wrist and she felt herself being pulled to her feet. For a moment she let her weight take over and her balance was off then she finally decided not to do anything to make it madder and regained her balance then opened her eyes as the raptor let her go. "Th...thank you....," she stammered, staring at the raptor's brown and tan face.

It made a low guttural sigh then turned to go. "I-" it began but was interrupted by a screeching sound above.

The two looked into the sky and the girl spotted the flying dino -robot hovering above.

"A Predacon!" the raptor exclaimed then suddenly changed shape. Yume watched it transform into a giant brown, gold, silver, and blue robot that pulled out a long silver drill-like sword. It looked down at her and when she saw its red eyes boring into her, she screamed in fear and ran behind some rocks out of terror. "Oh my god!" she exclaimed, wrapping her arms around herself to keep warm as she started to shiver. "_Everything_ is a robot here!"

She heard explosions and laser noises from the other side of the rock, just then, and chanced a peek.

The raptor robot was shooting green lasers from his eyes and trying to hit the flying dinosaur robot who avoided all the beams. It laughed insanely and shot at the raptor robot who dodged. As Yume watched she silently cheered on the raptor for some weird reason, probably because he hadn't tried to eat or shoot at her. When the flying robot started shooting again she ducked back behind the rock.

_This is bad! _she thought, listening to the two fight. _If that flying wacko wins, I'm dead, and if that roboraptor wins I'm dead as well. What am I going to do? I hope neither win. _she sighed. "But what can I do?"

BOOOMM!!!!!

An explosion sent debris falling behind the rock where she was sitting. She screamed and covered her head to protect it. She heard a grunt then that laser sound again then a squawking sound. She didn't know what had happened and wasn't about to look. She didn't know who had won and didn't care. If she had any luck they'd blown up each other and she'd only have to worry about that giant wasp and spider. She decided to wait a few minutes before she started moving again, just to make sure the monsters were truly gone. Then, just as she was about to open her eyes and get going, a hand reached down and grabbed her arm. She felt clawed fingers dig into her flesh and she screamed with fear and pain as she was yanked out of her hiding place.

"NOOOOOOOOOO!" she screeched, struggling against the hold. She swung her leg and it came in contact with something metallic. A loud clanging noise filled the air then a growl. The growl she recognized, even though she would have preferred not to.

She opened her eyes and stared into the blue frowning face of the transforming roboraptor. She started to whimper as he glared at her then pleaded. "Please don't kill me...."

"I am not going to kill you," he said, his voice full of annoyance. "You would not even be worth the trouble it would take to run you through." he made that noise again. "Killing you would be as satisfying as playing tag.."

"Then what are you going to do to me?" she asked. Yume saw sparks flying from his left shoulder and he flinched. "Are you hurt?" she asked.

"It is not serious," he said. "but I should get it fixed anyway." he started moving, still grasping her arm.

"Where are you taking me?" she asked, watching the ground fly by below her.

"To someone who will know what to do with you....."

_A/N_

_Okay. I really think this came out pretty well. I was going to make the beginning different but I couldn't think of anything else to write. You'll find out what that thing was she found later. Dinobot's persona is so cold it's hard for me to imagine him saying some of the things I wrote but I tried my best to make him in character as much as possible. I hope you enjoyed reading chapter one. Let me know what ya think okay? I like reviews. _

_P.S. I'll try to keep Yume from being a Mary Sue as much as possible. I don't want people to hate her. And this is my first Beast Wars fic so be nice. _


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

After what seemed like forever Yume and the robo-raptor came upon what looked like some kind of space craft. The girl looked up at the dark metal machine and started to dred what might be inside. She wanted to ask about the ship and stuff but the raptor intimidated her too much and she was afraid to ask. She didn't know how he'd answer her and didn't really want to know. _I just hope it's not full of more shape shifting robots or.... giant bugs... or worse... more of his kind! _The very idea caused her to start making a loud, very obnoxious whining sound. The robot looked at her once, his annoyed expression from before back in full force.

He looked like he was about to order her to shut up but for some reason changed his mind and looked back toward the ship, barking an order. "Sentinel, stand down!"

_Sentinel? Who's that? _she looked at the ship. _Is there someone over there I can't see? Is it his robot girlfriend or brother or boss or.... Is this the Dinozaurs?_

Then she noticed some weird phenomena. A green like substance suddenly appeared around the ship and slowly melted away. Yume didn't know what it was but to her it looked like a giant glob of snot. When the stuff was totally gone the raptor started forward. Yume didn't want to go forward and tried to hold herself back, straining against the grasp he had on her arm.

The robo-raptor felt it and looked over his shoulder at her, growling softly and showing rows of jagged white teeth. "Come on!" he ordered.

"No!" she exclaimed, trying her best to hold herself back. "I _won't_ go! _You_ can't make me!"

"I do not have time for your games, wench!" he growled at her. "Now you either come along willingly or I am going to drag you!"

"No!" she screamed, still holding back.

He growled at her then started moving whether she wanted him to or not. She forced herself to become dead weight and went limp, falling onto the ground. He didn't seem to notice and kept on walking, dragging her across the ground and over rocks. It didn't take long for her to realize going limp was hopeless, he wasn't even slowed down by her weight at all, but now that she was on the ground, she couldn't get back up. A few seconds later he let her go and she dropped to the ground. Now was her chance to get away, but when she stood up to run he grabbed her arm once again and kept her from going anywhere.

"Let me go!" she shouted, trying to wrench free. "I don't want to go in there! I won't be food for you and your army!"

"I AM _NOT_ GOING TO EAT YOU!" he shouted at her. "Now shut up and hold still!" He pulled her back and she smacked into his chest armor plate. She grunted in pain but didn't bother trying to get away again.

She heard a metallic noise and looked up to see some kind of elevator thing come down from the ship. When it reached the ground, Roboraptor, as she began to call the robot, stepped back and drug her onto it. Before she knew what was happening the thing lifted back into the ship, taking both of them with it.

* * *

Optimus Primal was ticked. He'd been trying to reach Dinobot for the past half hour but the raptor was either refusing to answer or something had happened to him. Optimus hoped it was the former but, if it was, the Predacon traitor had better have a good reason for not answering.

"Don't worry about it, Big Bot," Cheetor said, leaning back in his chair at the control panel. "I'm sure he has a good reason."

"He'd better," Optimus said, tapping away at the computer keys. "I don't need him disappearing on us. He was in a very important position."

Just then the two heard the elevator whirring and turned toward it just as it lifted into the base. They saw it was Dinobot, he was back but.........

Cheetor noticed something else. "What is _that_?" he exclaimed, pointing at a figure standing beside him.

Optimus stared at Dinobot's captive, his mouth hanging open. It was a girl, a human girl with raven black hair tied back in a pony tail, pale skin that made her look like she never got outside much, and huge grey eyes. She looked about five foot six and looked to weigh about 110 pounds. She wore a pair of knee high leather boots, short blue jeans and a sleeveless black T-shirt with the word "Jerk" written across the front in purple glitter. Her big grey eyes seemed to bug out when she stared up at the other two robots and Optimus could tell she was afraid of them. (I honestly just posted the description so you would know what she looked like without me having to repeat myself)

"It's okay," he said soothingly, kneeling down to her eye level. "We're not going to hurt you."

The look she gave him told him she thought otherwise and the Maximal leader began to wonder what Dinobot did to her while bringing her there. "Where did you find her?" he asked, looking up at the raptor. "Where did she come from?"

Dinobot made that growling sound and said, not very helpfully. "From the sky."

"What is _that_ supposed to mean?" Cheetor asked, getting out of his chair.

"I mean she fell on me," he answered, looking at the cheetah. "I think she was being chased by Megatron's scouts."

"What makes you say that?" Optimus asked.

"Because after she fell on me I ran into Terrorsaur," the raptor replied. He looked down at the girl and she seemed to shrink under his stare. "For all I know they could have just been playing with her."

"Playing with her?" Optimus asked. He looked at the girl who looked up at him and fell backward, banging her head against Dinobot's leg in the process. "Ow!" she moaned, grabbing her head.

"Are you okay?" the boss monkey asked.

"Y-yes," she said, rubbing her head. She looked up at him and pointed a shaking finger at him. "But you-you stay away from me!" she pointed at all of them. "All of you just stay-stay back. I know karate!"

"We're not going to hurt you," Optimus told her, very gently. "We're your friends."

"Friends that want to eat me," she said, her voice getting quieter.

The leader looked at Dinobot. "What have you been telling her?" he asked.

"Nothing!" Dinobot said, indignantly. "She has been saying words like that since I found her!"

Optimus looked back at the girl who scurried backward and right under Dinobot's legs. "Hmm... it seems she's had a traumatic experience before you found her," he observed. "I wonder what the Predacon welcome was like for her......?"

He got down on his hands and knees to see her through Dinobot's legs. The raptor didn't appreciate the position and moved out of the way, giving Optimus full view of the frightened girl. "We're not going to eat you," he said. "We won't hurt you either. There's no reason for you to be afraid of us. We can help you."

She looked up at him again, her legs tucked up to her chest. He could tell by her eyes that she still didn't believe him.

"If we wanted to kill you we would have already done so," he tried to reason with her. "Don't you think?"

She didn't move. She seemed to be thinking about it. She closed her eyes and crossed her arms, tucking her legs closer. _Is that thing really telling me the truth? _she wondered, _**Will **__he not hurt me? He is right about one thing. If he or Roboraptor wanted to kill me they would have done so already.... Maybe... _She opened her eyes and looked right at him. "Who-what are you?" she asked, her voice a little louder than before.

"I am Optimus Primal," the robot explained. "I am the leader of the Maximals."

"Maximals?" she asked, looking at the three robots in turn. "Is-is that some kind of animal robot?"

"In a way," he replied.

She nodded, not sure what she should ask next. She locked eyes with Cheetor and, when he noticed, he smiled at her and waved. "Hi!" he said in a very friendly voice. "My name's Cheetor. What's yours?"

By now she was feeling a little braver but was still intimidated by Dinobot who was also staring at her. She tried to ignore his probing and suspicious red eyes as she said quietly. "Yume Akamoya."

"Pleased to meet you," the cheetah robot said. "If you ever want to see the best places around here I'm you cat."

"Uh huh," she said, not sure what he was talking about. "Thanks anyway."

"You can get up," Optimus said gently to her. "You're among friends."

"O...kay...," she said wearily eyeing Dinobot as she stood up. Once on her feet she wiped dust off her jeans and stammering unintelligible words as she did so. _Oh my god! I'm amid friendly robots with weird names and I think that yellow and blue one is hitting on me! Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god!_

While she wiped herself off and freaked out about being hit on by a robot, Optimus asked Dinobot. "Why did you bring her here?"

"I thought you might know what to do with her," he replied. "Her looks tell me she is not from here or this time period. Besides, " he looked over at the girl who saw him doing so and shied away. "I did not think you would want the Predacons to have her, would you?"

"No," Optimus admitted. "I'd hate to imagine what they would do if they brought her to Megatron. But, " he put a finger to his chin. "How did she get here in the first place?"

About that time Rattrap came in in his animal form. When the girl noticed him, she screamed and ran into the open CR chamber.

"Whoa!" Rattrap said, putting his little hands to his ears. "What the slagen' was _that_?!" He scurried toward the CR chamber and peaked inside. Yume screamed again and kicked him in the face. "Yeowch!" the rat exclaimed, backing away holding his nose. "Jeez! Where did you find that thing?"

"Dinobot found her in Predacon territory," Optimus replied. "He said Terrorsaur was after her."

"What?!" the rat exclaimed, surprised. "Why would Terrorsaur want to go after that thing?!"

"She's not a _thing_," Optimus corrected, slightly irritated. "She's a human girl."

"A human?!" Rattrap was surprised at this information and changed into robot mode. "That's a human?" he walked back to the CR chamber. This time Yume didn't try to kick him, she just stared at him and whimpered. "Oh God. The rats on this planet can talk and transform too!"

"Hey," he exclaimed, looking back at Optimus. "It is a human but..." he scratched his head. "What's a human doin' here?"

"I was hoping she might be able to tell us," the leader replied. He walked over to the CR chamber and peeked inside. "You can come out," he said soothingly. "Rattrap won't hurt you."

"I hate rats!" she exclaimed, holding back. "Especially big, talking, _smelly_ ones!"

"Hey!" Rattrap exclaimed. "I don't smell _that _bad!"

"Don't worry about it," Optimus prompted. "Rattrap might smell bad and talk too much but he won't hurt you."

"Are you sure?" she asked, her voice full of disbelief.

"I'm sure," Optimus gave the rat a look. "Right Rattrap?"

"Yeah yeah, whatever ya say, Boss Monkey." he said shrugging.

"See," he said, looking back at the girl.

"Okay....." the girl said and decided to chance it, slowly making her way out of the chamber. When she could see Rattrap he smiled nervously and waved at her. "Hey!" he said.

"Hi....," she said, keeping her distance.

Optimus went over to the control table and beckoned her over. She quickly scurried over, avoiding both Rattrap and Dinobot. When she was over by Optimus and a safe distance from the other two transformers, she loosened up a little but still acted as if she would be attacked by something any minute.

"Yume," the Maximal leader said, getting the girl's attention. "Can I ask you something?"

"Yes," she said, nervously.

"How did you get here?"

She blinked. "What do you mean?" she asked.

"How did you wind up in this world?"

She shook her head and shrugged. "I don't know," she replied. "One minute I was in the park in New York City and the next minute I was here."

"Did you run into anything strange while you were there?" Optimus asked. "Like a time warp or something?"

The girl shook her head. "No, but," she took off her backpack and reached into the pocket. "I did find _this_-" she held up the rubix cube.

Optimus took it from her and looked at it closely. "Hmmm......."

"What is it, Big Bot?" Cheetor asked, leaning forward.

"I'm not sure," Optimus said, setting the object on the table. "I'll have Rhinox do a scan of it later." He looked at Yume. "Until then I think we should try to make our guest feel comfortable."

"Yeah. Good idea," the cheetah agreed. "Come on," Cheetor said, getting out of his chair and putting his hand on Yume's shoulder. "I'll show you around."

By then she was feeling a little less scared and nodded. "O-okay," she said, following him out of the control room.

Optimus watched the two leave the room then he turned to Dinobot. "I'm glad you thought to bring her here," he said.

Dinobot made that sound again. "I thought it would be a wise idea," he replied. "If Megatron had found her he would have used her for more... sinister purposes."

"Then I hope he doesn't find out about her.."

* * *

"What? You found a human?" Megatron exclaimed in surprise when Terrorsaur, Waspinator, and Tarantulus reported in.

"Not just _any_ fleshy-bot," Wapinator said. "A _female_ fleshy-bot."

"Where?" the Predacon leader asked, leaning forward in his chair with interest. "Where did you find her?"

"Around Sector 7," Terrorsaur replied, pointing at the spot on the digital map. "She seemed to be lost and was just wandering around."

"I could have captured her if Terrorsaur here hadn't of tried to kill her," Tarantulas said, glaring at the flying dinosaur robot.

"I wasn't trying to_ kill _her!" Terrorsaur protested, seeing the look on Megatron's face. "I just wanted to scare her!"

"Scare her my aft!" Tarantulas shouted. "You wanted to kill her, you trigger happy-"

"Enough!" Megatron interrupted. "You didn't kill the human so where is she?"

Terrorsaur and Tarantulas didn't answer but Waspinator did. "Lizard-bot protected female fleshy-bot," he answered. "Lizard-bot take female fleshy-bot to Maximal base."

"Idiot!" Terrorsaur shouted, whacking Waspinator over the head. "You weren't supposed to tell him that!"

"Why not?" Waspinator wanted to know. "Megatron would have found out anyway!"

"Yes, I would have," Megatron agreed. "So not telling me would have made no difference, no."

"So what are we going to do about the human?" Terrorsaur wanted to know.

Megatron leaned forward and steepled his fingers. "Let the Maximals have her, for now," he said. "When I decide it's time to use her then we shall take her from them, yeeeeeeeeeees."

_A/N_

_I'm still trying my best to keep everyone in character. I hope I'm doing okay with that. Just so you know Yume is Japanese-American so that's why she has that name. Yume is Japanese for "dream" in case you might be wondering. Well she met some of the Maximals and she'll meet the others later. I tried to make her reaction to them as real as possible without the stereotypical Mary Sue response of no fear at all. I noticed most Mary Sue's are very brave and I'm trying not to make her one by making her act timid toward everyone. I hope I'm not rushing things. I'm really trying not to and I'm trying not to drag it as well. _

_One other thing, before I forget, there aren't going to be any Transmetals in the story or Fuzors so if you were expecting Rampage or Silverbolt well... Sorry to disappoint you. _

_By The Way; Thanks for all the reviews I got for chapter 1. I wasn't expecting that many so it makes me feel good to know so many people like this so far. I hope to hear from you again._


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3

"And this is my room," Cheetor said, pressing a button that opened a door. "Pardon the mess."

The girl peeked inside the room, noticing what looked like spare parts littering the floor, as well as a picture frame with a picture of Optimus and Cheetor in it. She noticed, like most of the rooms on the ship, this one looked dark and gloomy as well, even though the light was on. She wanted to say something about it but refrained from saying anything, lest she offend the cheetah robot who was already going out of his way to be nice to her. _Why is he even bothering? _she wondered. _I'm not worth it. I'm just a girl. He shouldn't waste his time. I bet he has other, more important things he'd rather be doing right now. _

Cheetor noticed the sad look on her face. "Is there something wrong?" he asked.

"Uh," she said, looking up at him. "Nothing that's important... I was just wondering..." she sighed. "Why are you doing this?"

"Doing what?" he asked, confused.

"Showing me around your base," she replied, looking at her feet and rubbing her left arm. "I'm sure you have better things to do than show me around and-"

"Hey," Cheetor said, cutting her off. "Where did _that_ come from? I'm showing you around because I want to."

"But why?" she asked, playing with her hair tie. "I'm not worth the effort."

"Don't think like that," the cheetah said, causing her to look up at him. "You keep thinking like that and you might start hurting yourself. I don't know where you got ideas like that but everyone is worth something, you got me?"

"I- I guess so," she said, nodding. "But it's just that where I come from everyone either ignores me or thinks low of me. Even my parents think of me that way."

"Well they are wrong," he told her, putting a hand on her shoulder. "I know I just met you but I can tell you're someone special. Got that?"

"I guess," she said, not believing him. "Though I don't_ feel _special."

"You don't have to _feel_ special to _be_ special," he told her, smiling. "Just remember that the next time someone thinks low of you."

"O... okay," she said, smiling slightly, "and thanks.."

"No problem," he said. "Now," he closed his bedroom door. "Let's get on with the tour."

* * *

Rhinox had arrived back from monitering a nearby area a few minutes after Cheetor had walked out of the control room with Yume. Dinobot and Rattrap had also taken their leave soon after, going back outside for whatever reason they had that was only important to them. Optimus had showed Rhinox the object that had taken Yume to that time period and asked him if he could scan it and see what it was made of and what it could do. The rhino agreed instantly, setting the object on the scanner and typing in some codes. A blue print of the image appeared on the screen and the two robots leaned close for a better look.

"Hmm," Rhinox mused, putting his index finger to his chin.

"Do you know what it is?" Optimus asked.

"It seems to be some kind of time travel device," the rhino replied. He tapped away on the keys. "But that's about all I can find out about it. Whatever else it is or does it's a mystery."

"Hmmmm," Optimus mused. "Can it be used again?"

"Not anytime soon," Rhinox replied. "When it transported that girl here the trip used up all it's power."

"So it can't be used again?"

"Well not in the near future but it can be used again." Rhinox looked up at the Maximal leader. "Is there something wrong?" he asked when he noticed the look on the other robot's face.

"No, not really," Optimus replied. "I'm just not sure that human girl is going to like hearing that she's stuck here."

"Well we have to tell her," the rhino said, turning his chair around. "If we don't we won't be making anything easier for her."

"I know. I just hope she doesn't take it too hard..."

Rhinox noticed that wasn't the only thing bothering his friend. Something else was on his mind. "May I be so bold to ask what else is on your mind?" he asked.

"It might not be important," Optimus said. "and it might not even be worth it but if that girl is going to be stuck here for the next few days I don't think it will be wise for us to keep her out of our sight."

"You're worried that the Predacons might come after her," Rhinox said, as if reading his friend's mind.

"Yes," Optimus answered. "So I was thinking that we should give her some kind of guard. I think one of us should be in charge of keeping an eye on her and making sure she won't fall into Predacon hands."

"Who did you have in mind?"

Optimus thought for a moment. "We'll have to chose someone who can watch her but also defend her if attacked or get her out of harms way easily if they're forced to flee..." the Maximal leader started out of the control room. "I'll have to do some thinking before I can tell you for sure..."

* * *

"Oh before we head back to the control room I just want to show you one more thing," Cheetor said, remembering something.

"What?" Yume asked, curious about what it could be.

He led her down another hall and to another bedroom door that looked just like all the others. "Where are we?" the girl asked, staring at the door. "Why'd you bring me here?"

"I wanted to warn you about this room," Cheetor replied, pushing the button to open the door. When it opened the girl peeked inside. She saw a dinosaur pelt on the wall and what looked like a punching bag hanging from the ceiling, near the back was a desk with a computer on it. The girl looked back at Cheetor, a question in her eyes.

"I forgot to tell you, didn't I?" he said, laughing nervously. "Well this is Dinobot's room and I would advice against you going in there."

"Dinobot?" the girl said, thinking for a moment. "He's the robo-raptor isn't he?"

"If ya wanna call him that," he said, shrugging. "Yes."

"Well if he's who I think he is I-I wouldn't want to go in there anyway," the girl said. "He scares me. I'm afraid he's going to eat me."

"Well you don't have to worry about _that," _Cheetor told her. "Dinobot might not be the easiest person to get along with but he won't eat you. He might scare the crap out of you but he won't eat you. He's not as bad as you might think though. He's really an okay guy once you get to know him."

"He scares me," the girl said, turning from the room. "and I wouldn't want to go anywhere near him or his room so you don't have to worry about me sneaking in there and looking around."

"Okay," Cheetor said, pushing the button to shut the door. "I just wanted to warn you."

"Well thank you for that," she said. "now I know what area in here to avoid." she started walking away, her body hunched over slightly as if she expected Dinobot to appear from out of nowhere and chase after her. "We'd better head back..."

"Okay," Cheetor said. "By the way."

"Hmmm?"

"Why do you have "Jerk" written on your shirt?" he adked, pointing at the words scrawled in purple glitter. "Is it because you're calling yourself a jerk or other people?"

"Oh?" she said, looking down at her shirt. "I just like it. It's my favorite. It doesn't really have anything to do with what's written on it."

"Oh, I thought it might have another purpose..."

Yuke giggled. "I wouldn't have the courage..."

* * *

Optimus came back into the control room a few minutes later and Rhinox could tell by his expression that he'd come to a conclusion. "Have you decided who will watch her?"

He nodded. "I have," he said. "I gave it a lot of thought and I think I know the perfect person for the job." he stepped toward the computer screen. "See if you can get ahold of Dinobot..."

* * *

Cheetor and Yume were only a few feet from the control room when they suddenly heard yelling coming from the room. They stopped in their tracks and looked at each other. "What is that?" the girl asked.

"I will not be subjected to such a low grade mission!" a voice shouted in anger. "It is below a warrior of my skill!"

"It's _not_ below your skill!" another voice argued back. "It's a very important job and you're the only one who has-"  
"There are others you could have chosen for.. baby-sitting!" the other voice interrupted.

Cheetor recognized the voices. "Optimus and Dinobot?" he said. "I wonder what they're arguing about?"

Yume was wondering the same thing but didn't really want to be in the same room as Dinobot. "I'm not sure I want to know," she said, taking a step back.

"Why not?" he asked, looking at her. "I'm sure it doesn't have anything to do with you and, if it does, I think it's important for you to know too."

"But-" she began.

"C'mon," he said, pushing her forward from behind. "It'll be fine. Maybe they found out a way to send you back to your time."

Yume doubted that but she went along anyway, wondering what exactly they were talking about. _Roboraptor said something about baby-sitting... I wonder what he means?_. When they stepped into the control room they found Optimus and Dinobot standing only inches from each other, both with angry but determind looks on their faces. Yume started to wonder what exactly they were arguing about and why baby-sitting would make someone so angry.

Cheetor seemed to be wondering it too because he said. "Big Bot, what's going on?"

The two older robots looked over at the cheetah and, spotting him and the girl, moved away from each other to more respective distances. Dinobot glared at Optimus who ignored him to speak with Cheetor. "It's not really your concern but," he said. "I was just telling Dinobot that I'd chosen him for an important task."

"What kind of task?" Cheetor asked.

Optimus looked at the girl, who gave him a curious look. "It's about you," he said to her.

"Me?" the girl asked, putting a hand to her chest. She looked confused. "What about me?"

"It seems you will be stuck here for awhile," he answered, turning his full attention to her. "Rhinox examined that thing that brought you here and found that it's out of power for now and needs time to recharge. I figured you might need someone to take care of you to make sure the Predacons don't try to capture you."

"Predacons?" she said.

"The ones who attacked you earlier," Optimus explained.

"Oh," she said. "But why are you making such a fuss over me? I can't be _that_ important! I'm just a girl. Why would the Predacons want me?"

"It's because you're a human," Optimus told her. "If Megatron found out about you he'd do anything to get his hands on you."

_But why? Why would this Megatron want me and what does me being a human have to do with anything? _she wanted to ask the Maximal leader what he ment but decided not to. She had a feeling the explaination was complicated. _And what does he mean by I might need someone to take care of me and what does that have to do with Roboraptor over there?_

"So who did you decide would be a good person to take care of her?" Cheetor wanted to know.

Optimus looked back at Dinobot who hadn't said anything since the other two had come into the room. "I want Dinobot to guard her," he replied. "But he refuses."

"It's below my skill as a warrior," the raptor protested, angrily. "I do not feel it is honorable to have my status lowered to that of 'baby-sitter'."

Yume stared in horror at Dinobot. _So that's what he ment. He's been ordered to be my bodyguard but... he can't! I can't! No! No!_

"You're _not_ baby-sitting her!" Optimus informed him, irritated. "This job is very important."

"Then why do you not chose someone else to do it who needs the experience?" Dinobot demanded, looking over at Cheetor and pointing at the young Maximal. "I think he would do a better job at being watch carer of the human child!"

"No!" Optimus said firmly. "I chose you for the job because you know the most about Predacons and how they'd try to get to her if they attacked."

"That is a pathetic excuse for dumping the responcibility on me!" the raptor shot back.

"I'm not _dumping_ it on you!"

"So you say."

"What?!" Yume exclaimed, staring at them. "You're doing what?"

All three robots stared at her. They saw her face was full of disbelief and fear. "Yume?" Cheetor said, worridly.

"Why are you doing this to me?" she asked. "I can't- I can't! No! I won't do it! I_ won't let _you do it!"

"Yume?" Optimus said in concern.

"I can't let you do it!" she shouted at him, pointing a shaking finger in his face. "You should have asked me first! But you didn't! Now I'm stuck with-" she didn't finish her sentence. For some reason she burst into tears and ran off.

"Yume!" Cheetor called, starting after her.

Optimus put a hand on his shoulder to stop him. "Big Bot?" the cheetah asked, looking at his role modle.

"Let her go," he said. "I think she needs to be alone right now."

"No," Cheetor said. "I think I know what her problem is." he looked at Dinobot. "She told me she's afraid of him!" he said, pointing at the raptor. "and now she's being forced to be guarded by him."

"She's not being _forced _to do anything," Optimus informed the cheetah. "It's for her own good. I don't want Megatron getting his hands on her. Can you imagine what would happen if he did?"

"Yes," Cheetor said. "But you still should have said something to her before you decided on this. I'm sure she would have chosen someone else."

"Yes," Dinobot agreed. "Someone she will not think is going to make a meal out of her."

Optimus shook his head. He knew the two were both trying to make him change his mind about it. The Maximal leader did feel bad for Yume and her fear of Dinobot but he figured if she spent more time with him she'd get over the fear, besides, Dinobot wouldn't hurt her anyway. "My descition is final," he said, after a moment.

"But, Big Bot!" Cheetor began.

"No!" Optimus cut him off. "I won't change my mind." He looked at Dinobot who growled in anger and annoyance. "The girl is your responcibility. Don't try to change my mind about it." he looked at both of them. "And don't bring this up again."

Dinobot slammed his fist against the wall. "Fine!" he shouted.

"Good," Optimus said, satisfied. "You may go now."

Dinobot growled. "There are times I wish I was still a Predacon," he grumbled as he went back into beast mode and stalked out of the room.

* * *

Yume had found a small cubby hole to hide in and just be with her thoughts. She was not happy with the descition Optimus had made but what could she say? He was a big robot with a gun! He could blow her head off if he wanted to. She didn't really mind the idea of someone guarding her but, Dinobot? The one robot she feared the most? The one robot who didn't seem friendly or cheerful? _Why would he stick me with a such a scary grouch? _she wondered, playing with her black hair. _He should have figured it would be a bad idea. Roboraptor hates me. I can tell. I know he doesn't want to be stuck with me as I don't want to be stuck with him. _She sighed and pulled her knees closer to her chest. "I might as well just accept it," she muttered. "At least someone is showing concern for me for once..."

She heard footsteps coming down the hall and looked up. They seemed to be getting closer to her hiding spot so she causiously peered her head out, wondering who it was. She spotted Dinobot coming down the hall. She gasped and pulled her head back into the cubby hole, hoping he hadn't seen her. As he walked by it didn't seem as if he had. She noticed he was clenching his fists and seemed to be angry about something. She wondered what was bothering him but didn't bother coming out to ask. She wasn't sure she wanted to know. When he walked by she peeked out again and saw him go into his room. When she was sure he wouldn't come out she pulled her head back into her hiding place and sighed. "I hope Cheetor's right," she whispered remembering what he'd said earlier about Dinobot being "really a nice guy", then crawled out of her hiding place and slung her backpack over her shoulder. "I wonder who else I'll see while I'm here?" she said to herself as she walked down the hall, away from Dinobot's room.

* * *

Megatron had an assinement for Inferno the robotic fire ant. "Inferno," he said, taking the soldier aside. "I need you to do something for me."

"Anything, my queen," the ant said, eagerly waiting for his orders.

Megatron chose to ignore Inferno's rather awkward nickname for the Predacon leader and began. "I need you to go to the Maximal base and-"

"Say the word and they shall burn!" Inferno interrupted, holding up his flame thrower.

"No," Megatron said, correctively shaking his head. "Not any of that. I need you to watch the Maximal base."

Inferno was slightly disappointed that he couldn't make his enemies "burn' and asked. "Why?"

"There's something important I need you to keep an eye out for," Megatron explained. Then he spoke softly into the ant's ear, fully aware that Tarantulas was within earshot. When he was done he asked. "Understood?"

Inferno nodded and saluted smartly. "Yes, my queen," he said. "I shall not disappoint you!" then he turned from Megatron and flew off, laughing madly as he went.

Megatron shook his head and sighed. "I do wish he'd stop calling me that," he said in exasperation as Tarantulas chuckled softly in the background.

_A/N_

_I'm trying! I really am! I'm just going nuts. I can't wait to write the more interesting stuff but I have to get the boring stuff over with first. I had such a hard time coming up with the whole "You must be her bodyguard, Dinobot" thing. I hope it makes sense. I'll try to add more characters in the next chapter. Please tolerate me a little longer. I've been watching the episodes on Youtube to get a better grasp of their personalities but Dinobot's personality always changes slightly with each episode, I mean in one episode he qoutes Shakespear! All well. I'll try my best and thanks for the helpful reviews. I enjoy them and I enjoy getting help. So thanks you for that. DONT' HATE ME!_


	4. Chapter 4

**Before I start I just wanna say: THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE HELP Shojin Anime YOU'RE THE BEST!**

CHAPTER 4

Yume was talking to herself. "Okay so here's how it is Yume," she began, as she walked down the hall, her black boots clanging softly on the metal floor of the ship. "You're going to be stuck here for who knows how long and you're not doing anyone here any good being all emo and stuff. You don't need to be a burden for them by acting that way and you really don't need to make things worse." she sighed. She was trying to tell herself to stop being depressed and questioning their kindness. They wanted to help her plain and simple.. "The last thing they need is that." she muttered refering to what she'd just said. She looked around herself. "I wonder if-"

"Hey there, Dreamgirl," a voice said behind her, startling her out of her thoughts.

Yume jumped and quickly turned around. Rattrap stood behind her with his hands on his hips. "Oh!" she exclaimed, dropping her backpack. It hit the floor and opened, scattering pencils, pens, make up, papers, a few thick books, and her sketch pad all over the floor. "Darn!" she exclaimed, getting down on her hands and knees to collect her stuff.

Rattrap watched her pick up her stuff then noticed the sketchpad on the floor near his feet. He reached down and picked it up. He was about to give it to her then curiosity took over and he flipped it open, randomly flipping through the pictures she'd drawn, which mostly consisted of anime characters and a few robots. _Hmm... she's pretty good. I wonder how well she could do me if I..._ he noticed Yume looking at him.

"Ummm...Can I have that back?" she asked, putting out her hand.

He closed the book and handed it to her.

"Thank you," she said, quickly stuffing the book into her back pack.

"So you like to draw, huh?" he said, leaning against the wall and folding his arms.

"Yes," she said, not looking at him as she stuffed her books back into her backpack. "It's the only thing I'm really good at. That and I can play the guitar."

"Hmm," he said. "And you like robots?"

She looked away. "Sort of," she said. "That was until I was attacked by them."

"So you don't like us robots now?" he wanted to know.

"Well... it's not like that," she said, waving her hands at him. "When I watched cartoons about robots I always liked the bad guys because they always came up with schemes that hardly ever worked and, when they did, something would happen and it would blow up in their faces." she smiled at the thought. "But there was usually one bad guy in the show that always had the good ideas and would always be ignored so he'd go off to do his own thing and well..." she shook her head. "I don't think I like the bad guys that much anymore."

"Well that's good," Rattrap said. "I don't think the Predacons would care if you told them you admired them."

"I don't _admire_ the bad guys," she corrected him. "I just enjoyed the funny things they did and sometimes wished that for once they'd win."

"Why would you want the bad guys to win?" Rattrap asked in shock.

"I don't know," she admitted, putting the last of her stuff into her backpack. "I just felt bad for them that's all. They work so hard on their schemes and they never have anything to show for it." she shrugged. "It's a waste really."

Now that he had to agree on. It was a waste of time for the bad guys to put so much effort into a plan just to have it blow up in their faces. He noticed her staring at him. "What?" he asked, looking at himself. "Am I open somewhere?"

"No," she said. "I was just thinking that maybe you're not as scary as I thought you were."

"Hey you've got nothing to fear from me, sister," he said, waving his hands in front of him. "I'm not like certain bots I could mention. I know you're afraid of my beast mode but I promise you I won't hurt you."

"Hmmm," she said, thinking that over. She knew so far the Maximals had been honest with her about things, even the one she feared most, so it was very unlikely that that he was lying to her. _Besides, he doesn't look that ugly in beast mode. Just think of him as a mouse. He __**is**__ kinda cute in that form so maybe... _"Okay," she said. "I believe you."

"That's good," he said. "I wouldn't want you screaming and running away from me everytime you saw me. That ultrasonic you do is bad on the ears."

She smiled slightly. "Sorry about that," she said. "I was just surprised that's all. I hope you don't have hard feelings."

"Naw," he said, putting up a hand. "Just don't do it again, okay."

She nodded.

"By the way," Rattrap said, stepping closer to the girl. "I heard Optimus gave Dinobot the responcibility of keeping an eye on you."

"Yes," she confirmed, pulling her backpack on. "Though I don't like it. That mutant gorilla knows I'm afraid of Roboraptor but he's not going to change his mind about it." she gave the rat a look. "Why? Why are you so interested?"

"Oh, no reason," he said, shrugging. "I was just wondering what old Chopperface's reaction to that was."

"He wasn't too happy either," the girl informed him, folding her arms. "That's one thing we both felt the same about. He doesn't want me to be his responcibility and I don't want him to be my bodyguard."

"Why not?"

"Because I hate him," she replied, looking away. "He scares me when he looks at me." she shivered. "I don't like his eyes."

_His eyes? _the rat thought. _What's so scary about them? I could understand if it was something else that was scaring her, like his teeth, but his eyes? _"Hey," he said. She looked up at him. "Don't let Chopperface get to ya. He's got issues."

"What kind of issues?" she asked.

"It's not my place to say," he told her. "If you want to know you'll have to ask _him_."

* * *

"Hey," Airazor the falcon said when she returned to the Maximal base after scouting the area for any Predacon activity, sometime later. "I heard Dinobot found a human today. Is that truth?"

"Yes," Rhinox replied, who happened to be the only one in the control room at the time. "He said she fell on him after being chased off a cliff by Megatron's scouting party."

"Where is she?" the falcon girl asked. "Is she here? I'd like to see her. I've never seen a human before."

"Yes she's here but I don't know where," the rhino told her. "After Optimus told her that Dinobot was going to be her protection she ran off and we haven't seen her since."

"She's outside?"

"No, I think she's somewhere in the ship."

"Mind if I look for her?"

"Not at all," he told her. "I wanted to speak with her anyway."

"Okay." the bird girl headed down the corridor.

* * *

Inferno arrived outside the Maximal base just as the Energon buildup started to short him out. He quickly returned to beast mode and scurried behind a rock and out of sight of any Maimals that might have been watching. He still wasn't exactly sure what he'd been ordered to do when he got there, besides keep an eye on the base, but whatever the reason was, if the royalty told him to do it, it had to be done and who was _he_ to ask questions? He just did what he was told no matter how weird it seemed at the time. He had no idea what a human was anyway but Megatron had said he'd know what it was when he saw it because it would stand out. He decided just to wait for a better explaination and settled in to wait.

* * *

Airazor found the girl pretty easily. The human was still talking to Rattrap when the bird girl saw her and decided to say hello.

"Hey there," she called, stepping forward.

The girl was startled by the new, more female sounding voice, and quickly turned around. She gasped when she saw the female Maximal and took a step back.

"Don't be afraid," Airazor said, putting up a hand. "I'm not going to hurt you. I'm a friend."

The girl let that sink in and loosened up. "Are you a bird?" she asked.

"Yes," Airazor replied. "I'm Airazor. What's your name?"

"Yume," the girl replied slowly.

"Nice to meet you," Airazor said, putting out a hand.

The girl stared at the hand a moment then put out her own and shook it. She was surprised at how smooth the female robot's hand was compared to the other robots hands. "Do you put lotion on your hand?" she asked.

"Huh?" Airazor asked, confused.

"Nevermind," the girl said. "So are you a girl robot? You sound like one."

"Yes, I'm female," Airazor answered.

"Wow!" the girl exclaimed. "I didn't think there _were_ any female robots."

"What do you mean by that?"

"I always thought robots were just boys," she answered.

"I can assure you some of us are female," Airazor told her.

Yume got the feeling she offended the bird girl. "I'm sorry," she said quickly. "I didn't mean anything by it."

"That's okay," Airazor said. "You didn't offend me. It just seemed a little weird that's all."

"Sorry," the girl said again.

"By the way," Airazor said. "Rhinox wanted to talk to you about something."

"Me?" the girl asked. "What could he possibly want to talk to me about?"

"Let's go find out," Rattrap said.

* * *

Dinobot was still miffed as he came stalking out of his room sometime later. By then Yume, Airazor, and Rattrap had moved back to the control room and everyone else had also gone back to what they were doing. The raptor decided to go outside and get away from the Maximals and the annoying screaming girl. He headed for the control room, hoping no one would be there to bother him. Too bad for him Rhinox, Rattrap, Airazor and the girl were all in the control room discussing something. The girl was the first to notice him and gasped, stepping behind Airazor who turned around to see what had caused the girl to react the way she had. When she saw him she greeted him with a "Hey!"

Now the others turned to him as well. He didn't like them all staring at him. "What are you all staring at?" he demanded.

"Nothing much, Chopperface," Rattrap said. "Nothing much."

"Are you saying I am nothing?" the raptor demanded.

"You said it not me."

"Why you!"

"Stop it you two!" Rhinox ordered before the two started fighting in the middle of the room. He turned his attention to Dinobot. "What are you doing?"

"I was going out," the raptor replied. "Is there something wrong with that?"

"No," Rhinox replied. "But we might need you to protect the girl if the Predacons attack and if you're out-"

"So I am to be confined to the base now?" he demanded.

"No, we just need you to stay here," Rhinox said. "You're responcible for the girl so-"

"So what?" he growled. "She is fine here. I doubt the Predacons will try to attack the base anytime soon."

"Dinobot..."

"Just do what you're told, Chopperface!" Rattrap ordered, walking up to the raptor and poking him in the face.

"Since when have you been given command over me, vermin?" the raptor asked.

"Since you started skipping out on your responcibilites, lizard-butt."

"I will not stand here and be insulted!"

"Then stand somewhere else."

That was the last straw. Dinobot transformed and grabbed Ratrap by the neck. "Say that again and-"

"Stop!" a female voice screamed.

The two robots looked down at the floor. Yume had stepped out from behind Airazor and was staring at them in horror. "Don't!" she said. "Don't hurt him!"

"Yeah, you heard her," Rattrap said, poking the raptor's head. "Don't hurt the rat!"

Dinobot glared at the girl who coward under his stare. Finally he sighed and let the rat go. Rattrap fell onto the floor and glared up at him.

"Dinobot," Rhinox said, hoping to compromise. "If you want to go out why don't you take the girl with you?" he suggested. "I'm sure she could use some air."

The raptor frowned, weighing his options. Be stuck in the base because of the girl or go out and ditch the girl when he had the chance. Maybe he could find someone to dump her on.

"Fine," he said. He beckoned the girl over. "Get over here."

The girl took a step back. Rhinox put a hand on her shoulder and she looked up at him. "Go ahead," he said. "He won't hurt you."

She cast a doubtful look at the raptor but decided to trust them. After all they were being nice enough to care about what happened to her. She nodded and slowly walked over to him. He let her get on the elevator first then got on after her. She stood as far away from him as she could.

When the two were gone Rattrap looked at Rhinox and asked. "Are you sure that was a good idea?"

"I have no idea," the rhino admitted.

* * *

When the elevator reached the ground Dinobot got off and started walking. The girl started after him, staying a few steps behind. As they walked she looked at him in the sunlight, noticing just how tall he was. The next thing she noticed was his claws. Those things that could rip her to shreds as easy as slicing fresh baked bread. The third thing she noticed was his drill-like sword with the spinning blades. _I hope he's not planning on using them anytime soon, _she thought. "Where are we going?" she asked.

He growled and looked down at her. "No where," he answered.

"Then why are we-" She began but an explosion cut her off.

"What was-" Dinobot began but was cut off by a loud "FOR THE ROYALTY!"

Yumne looked toward the sound and spotted a strange looking creature with colors of red, black, and silver holding up what looked like the biggest gun she'd ever seen. _What in the name of Buddah is that thing?! _she wondered.

"Predacons!" Dinobot exclaimed, also spotting the pyromaniac. He shoved the girl backward and she fell onto the ground as he pulled out his sword. "Get back in the base!" he ordered her.

He didn't have to tell her twice. That thing was still shooting at them and it didn't seem to care what it hit. Some shots got dangerously close to where she had sitting. She quickly scrambled to her feet and ran toward the elevator. As she ran she heard the most horrible scream of her life. It sounded like a person in eternal torment. She looked over her shoulder, worried what she might see. To her surprise it was the strange red monster that was making that banshee noise and he wasn't even hit!

_What in the world? Is that thing insane?! _she wondered.

Suddenly she saw the strangest thing happen to the monster. His rear end opened and he was flying. _What the heck? _He started flying toward her, this time laughing madly. The sight scared her even more than Dinobot had when she'd first seen him transform and she screamed almost as loud as he had before and ran faster, cursing herself for wearing high heals. Dinobot seemed to know what the thing was going to do and shot a line of green lazer fire after it. The tail end hit the thing's propellers and short circited them. The red creature was suddenly falling toward the ledge and screaming that scream again.

Yume stopped in her tracks and watched the red monster fall downward, trailing smoke as if it were a crashing airplane. It fell off the cliff and screamed for a whole minute before it splashed into the river below the base. Dinobot came up behind the girl and looked over the side of the cliff. He didn't see it anymore so he turned back to the girl and said. "We had better get back inside."

Yume nodded with total agreement. She wasn't sure she wanted to be outside anymore.

_A/N_

_I am soooooooo tired my mind won't stay on track... I hope it still made sense. I hope they were in character. I hope I'm not a moron. _

_Lol. The other night I drempt that Inferno and Blackarachnia were best friends. Don't ask. I can't explain it either. They could be if he wasn't such a pyromaniac. _

_Some Mary-Sues are angusty? Wow. Usually they're real dorky, real brave, real stong, real beautiful, or have some kind of empathatic similarities with the character they're stuck with like being able to relate to them. I didn't know Mary-Sue's could also be hated by people in their own world. Lol. Looks like I've got some work to do. Maybe I'll make her act a little more like me from now on. Yume's a bit insecure and shy. She'll get over it as the story progressess. She's what I like to call a "Maturing" character. And what Rhinox was talking about with Yume isn't important so you don't really need to know what it was._

_I chose the nickname "Dreamgirl" for Rattrap to call her because I couldn't think of anything else for him to call her besides "Scaredycat" It's got nothing to do with attraction. Rattrap isn't smitten by her, he just knows Japanese. lol If ya got a better nickname he could use that won't sound so "Mary-Sue-ish" let me know okay?_

_Lol I almost called Inferno a girl at one part. I shouldn't read Waywards "Other Vengance" fanfics. I do like Inferno he's just crazy and he __**would**__ be a scary thing to see, especially if he were using that hellgun at the time. _

_Hehehe there will be more fun in the next chapter. _


	5. Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5

Inferno finally got out of the river some time later and reported in to Megatron. When he told the "Royalty" what had happened Megatron cursed him up one ear and down the other. "You stupid, mindless, dirt shoving, son of a faulty drone!" the Predacon leader shouted so loudly Inferno wished he could rip out his intercom. "I told you to watch the base not shoot everything that came out of it!"

"But, Royalty, I spotted the traitor and-"

"I did _not _tell you to shoot Dinobot!" Megatron cut him off. "There will be a time and place for that later but today it not that day, no."

"I'm sorry, my Queen," the fire ant said, hanging his head in shame. "I shouldn't have let my faulty programming get in the way."

"Forget it," Megatron said. "It's not important now, no. Just go back to the base and this time don't shoot the first thing you see!"

"Yes, Royalty," the ant said, glad that he'd been forgiven so easily. The ant got up and flew back to the Maximal base.

* * *

Megatron had the feeling Inferno might not be able to control himself again so he summoned another one of his minions to go and keep Inferno in line for him.

* * *

"What?" Optimus exclaimed, after Dinobot and Yume had related what had happened. "You were attacked by Inferno?"

"Yes," Dinobot replied. "He must have been waiting for us to leave the base."

"How come you didn't see him earlier, Airazor?" the Maximal leader asked, looking at the falcon girl.

"He mustn't have been there when I got here," she replied, shrugging and making a helpless gesture. "If he had been I would have delt with him." she gave Optimus a look. "But what was he doing out there in the first place? It isn't like Inferno to just do things by himself."

"I think Megatron ordered him to keep on eye on the base."

"What for?"

Optimus looked at Yume. "Incase we let a certain human girl go outside," he replied.

"Me?" the girl asked surprised."Why would that demon want me?"

"He doesn't," Optimus replied, knowing she was refering to Inferno. "If he had his way, Inferno would have killed you. Megatron must know about you and if he does my reason for giving you a bodyguard has just been given."

Yume said nothing, she looked away and played with her hair. _So now he's got a good reason, _she thought. _if he's right and this Megatron is after me then I'd better appreciate what they're doing. Megatron must be a real nasty character if he sent that demon to come after me. _"What's going to happen now?" she finally asked, looking back at the robots.

"Right now I think it would be a good idea for you to stay in the base," Optimus told her. "It's probably the safest place for you to be right now."

Yume didn't argue with him about that. She figured that was true since the base seemed to have some kind of shield surrounding it, thus protecting it from any kind of damage if attacked, or so she hoped.

Dinobot seemed to like the idea. "So I guess this means you will not be needing me anymore then," he said.

"Negative," Optimus told him.

"What?" the raptor said surprised by the answer.

"We'll still need you to guard her incase of attack," the Maximal leader replied. "If the shield fails and they somehow manage to get in we'll need you to protect her."

Dinobot frowned. He opened his mouth to say something then seemed to change his mind. Without a word he turned from the others and stalked out of the control room. Optimus shook his head then looked at Yume. "I guess we'll have to find some place for you to sleep tonight," he said.

"No problem there, Big Bot," Cheetor said, putting a hand on Yume's shoulder. "She can stay in my room."

"That's very nice, Cheetor, but I was thinking she could stay in Airazor's room with her," Optimus said. He looked at the girl. "I hope you don't mind."

She shook her head. No she didn't mind. If she stayed in Airazor's room she wouldn't feel awkward. After all; Airazor was a female robot so maybe they could talk about things she couldn't talk about in front of the other robots. "It's okay," she said.

Optimus looked at the bird girl. "You may go now," he said, yawning. "I think we all should get some sleep now."

"All right," Airazor said. She put a hand on Yume's shoulder. "Come on. I'll show you my room."

* * *

Airazor's room looked just as gloomy as the other rooms but at least the falcon girl had made an attempt to spruce it up a little. Though it looked like it was hardly ever used the room had a more femanine touch to it than the other rooms. "You can have the bed if you want," Airazor said to the girl.

"But where will you sleep?" she asked.

Airazor smiled. "Don't worry about that."

"But I couldn't!" the girl protested. "The bed is yours and-"

"Go ahead. I'll be fine," the bird girl assured her.

"Okay," the girl said, nodding relunctantly. She sat down on the bed and opened her backpack. She pulled out her pencil and drawing pad and found a clean sheet of paper. She put the eraser in her mouth and thought hard. _Now what did that demon with the hellgun and ass blaster look like? _she wondered, trying to remember the few details she'd seen. For some reason she felt like drawing the thing. She wasn't sure why but maybe it had reminded her of something. She couldn't remember enough details though so she started drawing Airazor. A few seconds later she looked up to see Airazor watching her.

"Um...," she said.

"What are you doing?" the bird girl asked.

"Umm drawing something," the girl answered.

"What?"

"You." she showed Airazor what she'd drawn so far, which was only a rouch sketch of the falcon's head and upper body. "It doesn't look that great because the light in here is bad," she said, embarressed.

"No, it looks fine," Airazor told her, taking the sketch so she could get a better look. "It looks almost exactly like me," she handed it back. "But my head's not nearly that big."

"Eh?" the girl looked at her sketch and realized she had made the head too big. "Sorry," she said erasing it. "I'll do it over." she started to re-sketch the head.

"So you like to draw?" Airazor asked, sitting down beside the girl.

"Yes," the girl said, nodding. "When I was younger I had a hard time learning to read so when the stress got too great for me I'd draw to relax myself. Back then it was just stick figures but I think I've improved pretty much since then. " she sighed. "Now my drawing is just a form of escape."

The falcon cocked her head. "Escape?"

"In a way it's my only way to leave the real world for a short amount of time and just retreat into my own world." she shook her head. "I know it's foolish and I should learn to face the real world but sometimes I fear reality. At least in my own world I can say and do what I want without people looking down upon me." she sighed and set the paper down. "I'm sorry. I doubt you care what I'm talking about. I won't say anymore."

"No, it's okay," the bird girl said. "Sometimes it helps to tell your problems to someone."

Yume smiled. "Yes, sometimes it does," she said. "I just wish I had someone to tell them to."

"Well you have me," Airazor said, putting a hand on the girl's shoulder. "If you ever want to talk about anything that's bothering you I'll be here to listen."

Yume nodded. "Okay," she agreed. "Thanks."

"No problem," Airazor said, patting the girl on the back. "Now I think you'd better get some rest. I'm sure you're tired from all that's happened to you today."

The girl nodded. That was true. She yawned and lay down. It wasn't long before she'd fallen fast alseep.

* * *

Yume was running from a demon with a giant flame thrower. His insane laughter echoed hauntingly around her as she fled, her screams bouncing back at her and adding to her terror. Suddenly she was falling. She didn't know when that had happened or how; all she knew was that she was falling. Then she landed on something that bounced under her. She tried to get up but found she couldn't. She heard more laughter and looked around herself, spotting eight eyes staring at her in the darkness. As they got closer she saw they belonged to a giant spider. She screamed and tried to get away form it but she realized she was stuck in a giant spider's web. The spider got closer and as it faced her its head suddenly transformed into that of a raptors. It opened its jaws...

* * *

Yume woke in a cold sweat. She sat up instantly and then just froze, listening to sounds around her but only hearing the insane pounding of her own heart. She didn't remember her room ever being this dark before and as her eyes adjusted she realized she wasn't in her room. As confusion suddenly changed to rememberence her heart slowed down and she could breathe again. "Just a nightmare," she told herself. "It was just a dream..."

She lay down and tried to get back to sleep then realized she had to go to the bathroom and sat back up. She sighed and got off the cot, grabbing her backpack and tiptoeing past Airazor, attempting not to wake her. The door opened with a soft _whoosh _and she stepped into the hall.

"Now," she said, looking around the dimly lit hall. "Where is the bathroom, if they have one that is?"

She started down the hall, keeping an eye out for those little male-female signs.

A few minutes later she began to realize there weren't any. "What did I expect?" she asked herself, leaning against what she thought was the wall. "They're robots. What do they need bathrooms for? What kind of waste would they have to dispose of..." the thought made her shiver. "I don't wanna know."

Suddenly she heard a strange noise and froze to listen to it. It sounded like heavy breathing. _What is that? Where is it coming from? _a horrible thought came to her._ It sounds like a monster! Oh no! That demon has come back! _She looked around herself but didn't see the thing anywhere. _Where is it? _She slowly started to scoot down the hall, keeping her back against the wall. _Well wherever it is I won't let it get the drop on me-_

Suddenly her hand hit something and the wall behind her seemed to open up. Before she could regain her balance she was falling backward. The only thing she was able to accomplish was turning over and landing on her stomach. She found herself face to face with a sleeping Dinobot. She gasped and held in a scream as she slowly moved backward and stood to her feet. She stood in the hall a moment, staring at Dinobot's sleeping face. She didn't remember him transforming earlier but sometime during the night he had. He was now in his raptor form and curled up on the floor.

She started to wonder why he wasn't sleeping on his bed then realized he was too big for it. She also realized he had been the one making the noise she'd heard before and he looked kinda cute sleeping like that, all curled up on the floor like a kitten...

_I'd better get out of here before he wakes up. _she thought.

She turned and started to slip away. Too bad at that moment the one strap on her backpack undid itself and slipped off her arms. She grappled for it but it was too late. The pack hit the floor with a loud THUD! To make matters worse the pack opened and an opened can of face powder rolled across the floor and came to a stop just under the raptor's nose. One sniff and he sat up sneezing.

"AAAAAAACHOOOOOO!" he exclaimed sitting up. "Ah! What is that?" he asked himself rubbing his nose. That's when he noticed Yume staring at him in horror. "What are you staring at?" he demanded.

"Nothing!" she gasped, stooping down to clean up her mess. "I'm sorry. I was just-"  
"And what are you doing out of your quarters?" he demanded, standing up.

The girl babbled to herself as she picked up her stuff. "I'm sorry," was all he understood.

Dinobot noticed the face powder at his feet and picked it up. He sniffed it again and sneezed. "What in the Inferno is this?" he demanded.

"F-face powder," she squeeked, taking it out of his hand and shoving it into her backpack. "Oh no! I've spilled it."

He watched her clean up her mess and noticed how nervous she seemed to be. She refused to look at him and just kept her eyes on the floor as she cleaned up her stuff. When she was done she swung her packpack over her shoulder and said. "I'm sorry waking you up, Dinobot... I didn't mean to. I was just looking for the bathroom and-"

"Bathroom!?" he exclaimed.

"Yeah," she said. "I have to go to the bathroom and I was looking for it."

"Why would you think we would have a bathroom in here?" he asked.

"I asked myself that too," she muttered, looking away from him.

"If you have to go you will have to go outside to do it," he informed her.

"I can't go _outside_!" she exclaimed. "That demon might come after me again and, and, and-"

"Will you stop that?!" he demanded. "Why are you so nervous all the time?"

"Y-you scare me," she said honestly.

"I-oh." he shut his mouth. _Oh yes. She said that before. How could I forget? _He noticed she was doing some sort of dance and realized she must still have to go. _Well I cannot have her doing it on the floor. The vermin will probably blame me! _He sighed. "Come with me," he said walking past her.

She hesitated.

"Come on!" he ordered, looking over his shoulder. When she still didn't move he said. "I will not hurt you. Trust me, I have better things I could be doing."

She still looked undecided but decided to trust him just this once. She followed him down the hall.

Dinobot led her into the control room and to the elevator. She hesitated a moment but then decided to trust him and stepped onto the elevator and rode it outside. Once out there Dinobot pointed toward some rocks a short distance away. "Go behind those," he told her.

"WHAT?!" she exclaimed, repulsed. "I can't go on the ground! What do you think I am? An animal?"

He snarled at her as he turned his eyes toward her. "Do you have a better idea, girl?" he demanded.

Now that was one thing she didn't have. The Maximals had no bathrooms in their ship and she doubted those Predacons did either. She had no other choice and he knew it. Finally she looked away from his gaze and said. "Okay." then started over to the rock aware that he was watching her the whole time.

* * *

Inferno had just started to doze when he felt a tapping on his head. Instantly he was wide awake a would have made a loud noise if someone hadn't of put a hand over his mouth. He looked up to see Blackarachnia standing over him. She noticed and leaned down. "Shhh!" she ordered, putting her other claw to her lips.

He nodded and she removed her hand.

"What are you doing here, spider?" he demanded in a low voice once he could talk.

"Megatron sent me," she told him.

"What for?" he asked, sitting straight up. "I can do this by myself."

"He sent me to make sure you controled yourself," she informed him. "He told me that you couldn't resist blowing your cover to attack someone."

"It was an accident," he protested.

"Sure it was..." She shook her head. "And," she began peeking around the rock they were hiding behind to get a look at the base. "It seems our target has just come out into the open."

"Where?" the ant asked, peeking around the rock and looking around. "What can I buuuurn?"

"Nothing, insect!" she hissed. "You can't _burn_ anything!" she pointed to Yume who was just pulling up her pants. "You see that girl?"

Inferno saw the girl peeking around the rock. She seemed to be looking at someone he couldn't see. "The human?" he said.

"Yes," she replied. She spotted Dinobot on the other side of the rock. "Okay here's what we're going to do. I'll distract Dinobot and you grab the girl."

"Huh?" he exclaimed, looking at the black window. "Why can't I distract the traitor and _youuuu _grab the girl?" he poked her in the face with his finger.

She shoved his finger away. "Because you'll make more noise than I will," she told him. "You'll wake all the Maximals and Megatron doesn't want that. He wants this done as quietly as possible."

"Can I buuuurn the human?" he asked.

"No you_ cannot _burn the human!" she told him. "Megatron wants her alive!"

Inferno was disappointed that he couldn't buuuurn anything but since the Royalty commanded it he would obey.

"Okay," she said. "Let's go," she said, transforming into beast mode.

He followed her cue and did the same. The two silently made their way over to Dinobot and the girl.

* * *

Yume was just starting to come out from behind the rock when she suddenly felt a creppy crawly feeling come over her. She looked over her shoulder but saw nothing only rocks and the mountain in the distance. _Huh? I could have sworn I felt-_

"What is it?" Dinobot asked her, seemingly noticing her hesitate or feeling the same thing she felt.

She looked back at him and shrugged. "I don't know," she said coming toward him. _Maybe I'm imagining it... _

Suddenly she noticed something behind the raptor that he didn't seem to sense. She gasped and pointed. "Behind you!"

He turned around and got a foot in the face.

"Gah!" he exclaimed, falling over onto his side.

"Oh my god!" she exclaimed, taking a step back when she saw the thing that had hit him.

It looked like a black and gold female robot with black eyes that seemed to hold a void in them. Unlike Airazor this femme bot had a haughtiness about her. She saw the girl staring at her and smirked.

Dinobot didn't stay on the ground for very long. He lurched to his feet, transforming as he did so. He towered over the gold and black robot and thrust his sword at her.

The femme bot dodged the blow and back flipped out of his way. She landed on the ground and started shooting at him using the leg things on her arms.

Yume watched them fight, hoping Dinobot would beat the weird female robot. She took a step back to avoid any fire power from either bot and suddenly felt an arm on hers. She gasped as she was yanked backwards and an arm wrapped itself around her. The girl looked up to see the face of the demon from before staring down at her. Even up close it looked like a monster from hell and images of her nightmare came into her mind. She opened her mouth and screamed right into his face.

Dinobot heard and looked back at Yume. He saw Inferno dragging her away and forgot about the black widow, starting toward the fire ant and his captive. He didn't get very far before Blackarachnia shot him in the back with one of her venom darts. He fell to the ground snarling in agony.

"That'll teach you to turn you back to a widow," the spider girl said, walking up to the raptor.

Even poisoned he could still glare at her.

She cackled at him then kicked him in the face. She looked up at Inferno who had a tight hold on the girl. "Let's go," she said.

"What about the traitor?" he asked, looking down at Dinobot. "Surely the Royalty will want us to bring him along..."

Blackarachnia was about to correct him then stopped herself. _An extra bonus... _she smirked down at the raptor. "Why not?"

_A/N_

_I blame my mother! She was watching __**Christy**__ while I was working on this chapter and she killed my imspiration! I hope this was okay. I really stink at action sequences. I just wanna let you all know I will be away next week so I can't update then. Maybe I can try to update this again before Saturday but if I can't I am very sorry. Hopefully by the time I come time from my vacation I will still have the drive to finish this story. I DID NOT RUSH THIS! I'M JUST WORKING ON ANOTHER BEAST WARS STORY AND IT TOOK UP SOME OF MY TIME!!!!!!_


	6. Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6

Even though Blackarachnia had agreed to bring Dinobot with them she wasn't happy about that fact that she would have to lug his entire bulk back to the base by herself. The raptor might have been poisoned but he still had enough energy to glare at her the whole time and snarl dire threats about her demise. She didn't know him very well but she'd never heard him say things like that before and concluded that her venom had made him delirious. To make matters worse a certain human, who was locked between the jaws of Inferno's ant form, was screaming her head off and trying to free herself at the same time. The human's noise was just clicks from driving the black widow crazy.

"Will you shut her up already?" she demanded, turning to the fire ant. "I can't stand hearing that thing wail!"

"What do you expect me to do, spider?" the ant demanded. "I'm under orders not to_ buurn _remember?"

"Well do something!"

"Like what?"

"I don't know!" she said. "Threaten her or something! Just get her to shut up!"

"Fine." he transformed into robot mode and held the girl by her throat, holding his flamethrower under her nose. "Scream one more time and you will buuuuuuurn!" he said, a tiny flame sparking from the barrel of the gun and lighting up his face in horrible detail.

Yume stared in horror at the hellgun and his face and shut her mouth, not wanting to be burned by that thing. "There," he said putting his gun away. "I delt with it. You happy now, spider?"

"Very," she said relieved that she wouldn't have to hear that wailing anymore.

Inferno transformed back into beast mode and followed the spider, clenching the now quiet human girl between his jaws.

_Oh my god! _Yume thought, her heart pounding in fear. _What are they going to do to me? Where are we going? What's going to happen to me? _She noticed Dinobot in the blue and white web the giant spider girl was dragging behind her. To her surprise she found herself worrying about him despite her fear. _I hope he's all right. What did that robot spider girl shoot at him anyway? Venom? Robots can get poisoned? But they're metal! How can metal be poisoned? _No answers came to mind so she decided it would be one of those mysteries no one would ever be able to solve. That and why dryers always ate socks.

* * *

Airazor woke to discover Yume was gone. Thinking the girl had just gotten up and was exploring the ship more, she decided to get up and see what the girl might be up to. As she stepped into the hall she hoped the girl hadn't accidently stumbled upon Dinobot this early. Though the falcon girl had never witnessed it, she'd been told the raptor wasn't a morning person and tended to be less bareable than usual the moment he woke up. She headed to the control room and saw Rhinox was in his usual spot.

"Good morning, Rhinox," she said when he noticed her. "Where's everybody else?"

"Rattrap and Cheetor went out to monitor some nearby Energon readouts," he replied. "Optimus hasn't gotten up yet."

"Oh. Where's the girl?" she asked.

"I thought she was with you," he said.

"No she's not."

"Hmmm Dinobot's not here either," Rhinox told her.

"He isn't?" she asked. A thought came to her. "Do you think they might have gone somewhere together?"

"Not likely," Rhinox told her. "You know how she acts toward him. There's no way in Cybertron she would willingly go off somewhere with him."

"Then where is she?" Airazor asked, starting to get worried.

"I don't know," Rhinox admitted. "But I think we'd better let Optimus know about this." he got out of his chair. "We'd better wake him..."

* * *

Sometime during their journey Yume had fallen asleep and woke to almost unbearable heat. She found herself riding piggyback on Inferno who walked along as if she weighed nothing, seemingly walking to a marching tune going through his head. She let out a soft squeal and almost fell off him but he seemed to sense she was awake and he made sure she didn't.

"So you have awakened, human," he said, looking over his shoulder at her.

She moved her own face away from his, realizing that he didn't exactly look as horrifying as he had first seemed, though she couldn't say the same thing about his teeth. "Where am I?" she asked him before she could stop herself.

He looked away from her and gestured at something ahead. 'The colony!" he exclaimed with a flourish.

Ther girl looked ahead and saw what looked like a damaged space craft. Unlike the Maximal's base this one was black and sitting in the middle of a lava pit. It did not look warm or welcoming. The dred she felt yesterday came back.

"We're here," Blackarachnia said, letting go of the web net Dinobot was in. The raptor hadn't had any sleep all night as he'd been drug over the rough ground toward the Predacon base. Now he snarled at the two Preds who ignored him. "You can take him in the rest of the way, insect," she said, looking at Inferno.

The ant nodded and knelt down to let Yume get off his back. She slid off and would have bolted if not for the fact that she was afraid that the demon ant robot might use his flamethrower like he'd promised and she was worried about Dinobot, though she wasn't sure why. Probably because he had tried to protect her before, she reasoned.

Inferno took the web net from the black widow and Blackarachnia grabbed the girl by the arm. "Come along, little human," she said. "I've got someone I want you to meet."

Yume was drug along though she would have prefered not to. She wouldn't be able to stand getting any closer to the lava pit where the base was located. The heat didn't seem to bother the robots but since the human girl was organic it was already getting to her. She was sweating heavily but said nothing, knowing they wouldn't care anyway. _I just hope their boss doesn't want me dead, _she thought, panting. _Because if that ship doesn't have some kind of climate control in it I'm dead..._

* * *

Scorponok just so happened to be heading out of the Predacon base when he spotted Blackarachnia and Inferno coming back from their mission. He was just a little surprised to see them back so early. He half expected them to be gone much longer because it was likely they would have run into some kind of trouble with the Maximals, whatever their mission had been. Something must have happened to make their job easier. He also noticed that they seemed to not only be bringing the strange looking creature Terrorsaur, Waspinator, and Tarantulas had seen the other day but also one of the Maximals as well.

_Well this is unexpected, _the scorpion thought.

Inferno was the first to greet Scorponok when the group got closer. "Drone, is the Royalty awake yet?"

"I think he is," Scorponok said. "He was in his hot tub the last time I saw him."

Inferno digested this information with a nod of his head then said. "Go tell the Royalty that we have returned," he ordered, pointing toward the ship.

"What?" the scorpion said indignant. He didn't like being told what to do by anyone but Megatron. "Why can't _you_ tell him? _I'm_ second in command! You don't order me around!"

Inferno cocked his head and tapped his flamethrower against his head. "You will tell the Royality at once," he said again. "I have brought a gift for our Queen!"

"A gift?" Scorponok looked past the fire ant at Blackarachnia and saw what looked like a big bulky snarling mass in a spiders web and also the strange looking pink thing staring at him with bulging eyes. The pink thing saw him staring at it and let out an obnoxious whiny sound. "What is that thing?" he asked, pointing at it. He didn't know what it was even though he'd heard it mentioned.

"What does it look like?" Blackarachnia demanded, yanking the girl in front of her. "It's a human. Megs wanted us to bring her to him."

"Human?" the scorpion was confused. He had no idea what she was talking about. Megatron had never mentioned the fact that Terrorsaur, Waspinator, and Tarantulas had spotted and chased a _human girl _the day before. He'd only said it was a strange creature. Scorponok felt offended that it had never been mentioned to him. "Why didn't he tell me?" he whined.

"Probably because he didn't think it was important for you to know," the black widow told him.

"But I'm _second in command_," Scorponok said.

Blackarachnia ignored him and looked at Inferno. "Come on, ant brain," she said. "Let's get these two to Megatron."

He nodded and the two went into the base.

'Two?!" Scorponok asked, watching the two drag the human and the bulk in the net into the bease. One snarl and he knew right away it was a very angry, very poisoned, very in beast mode, Dinobot. "When did you capture_ him_?!"

The ant and the spider looked at each other and chuckled mysteriously before disappearing into the dark base. It was best he didn't know. The scorpion watched them go, totally confused and totally offended. He sniffed in annoyance, banged himself on the head with his claw and followed the two robots into the base, muttering to himself how he was always being kept out of the loop.

* * *

Yume was relieved to discover that the Predacon base had climate control. As soon as she and the Preds and the still webbed Dinobot entered the base she felt much cooler. She sighed in relief, glad that at least one thing about the Pred base wasn't going to make matters worse for her. Also when the group entered the base the two Preds must have figured Dinobot wouldn't be as big a problem in there and finally cut him loose from the web. He snarled as he got wobbly to his feet, glaring at the two Preds that had their guns trained on him. Since he was in beast mode he was less of a threat but they didn't want to take any chances.

"Don't even _think _of transforming," Blackarachnia said, her gun aimed right into his face. "This dart has enough cyber venom in it to keep you in stasis lock for the next century!"

He growled at her and seemed to be thinking about transforming just to see what she would do. Inferno stood a short distance back, his finger inches from the trigger of his flamethrower. He looked like he _wanted_ to shoot the raptor. Dinobot noticed this.

Yume was hoping he'd transform and wipe the two freaky bots out but he must have thought it was wise if he didn't and maintained beast form, seemingly knowing he had more than just their guns trained on him.

"Now," Inferno said, turning to the widow. "Let us bring the human and the traitor to the Royalty."

Blackarachnia nodded and the two started prodding the raptor and the human along. The human girl was too scared to even protest but Dinobot, poisoned or not, was a little less compliant. He snarled at the two bugs but did go the way they probed him.

"What is going on?" Yume asked him, hoping he would know what this was about.  
The raptor made that snarling sounding sigh, before saying. "Megatron is about to regain the two things he lost. The Predacon that betrayed him and the human that escaped his grasp."

"What?" the girl didn't understand what he was talking about but something he said made her think. _The human that escaped his grasp must be me but the Predacon that betrayed him? I'm not a Predacon. Who's he talking about? Could he mean... _she looked at Dinobot. The raptor seemed to be purposely ignoring her now. He kept his eyes straight ahead, clenching his fists and growling quietly to himself. _Roboraptor? Could he be talking about himself? Was he a Predacon? But he's a Maximal! How can he be a Predacon...? _Her brain couldn't seem to come up with the answers.

* * *

Optimus was not happy at being awakened so early in the morning. Usually he was the first one up but even then it was never at six in the morning. So he woke in a bad mood ready to chew out the people rude enough to awaken him. His anger turned to full blown confusion when Rhinox and Airazor told him that the human girl and Dinobot were missing.

"What?" he exclaimed, startled. "What do you mean they're _missing_?"

"It's true," Airazor told him. "I woke up this morning and the girl was gone. Rhinox and I checked on Dinobot on the way here to tell you and confirmed that he's missing too."

"Well where are they?" he asked.

"We don't know," Rhinox replied. "I tried to contact Dinobot but either his comlink is damaged or he's refusing to answer."

Optimus frowned. Missing people were the last things he wanted to worry about this early in the morning.

"We'd better let Cheetor and Rattrap know," he said, stepping out of his room. "So if they can keep an eye out for them."

Rhinox and Airazor looked at each other. They were both worried about the same thing but neither wanted to voice it just yet. What if the Predacons had done something to them?

* * *

Yume and Dinobot were led into the Predacon control room. The human girl looked around herself and noticed the giant wasp robot from the other day seated in front of the computer but the flying dinosaur and other spider were nowhere in sight. That relieved her a little bit. Up until the wasp robot turned in his chair and waved at her, making humming noises. "Helloooooooo, female fleshy-bot," he said, making her flinch.

"Royalty," Inferno said saluting at something in the darker part of the base. "We have brought the human girl and the traitor."

"Excellent," a suave sounding voice said from the shadows. The voice took the girl's attention away from the wasp. She looked to where the sound had come from. A second later what looked like a giant purple dinosaur came out of the darkness.

Yume stared at it. _Oh my god! Is that Barney?!_

The purple dinosaur spotted the human girl and transformed, becoming a giant robot with a T-Rex arm and a purple face. He smiled a toothy smile, showing off too white teeth. She stared at his chompers in a state of awe. _How does he keep them so white?_

"So you must be the human, yesssss," the robot said, interrupting her thoughts.

She stared up at him, not saying anything. She glanced around herself again, this time nervously, then stepped slightly closer to Dinobot as if expecting him to protect her. For some reason she didn't feel any safer being close to the raptor who was glaring at Megatron hatefully.

Megatron leaned toward the girl and frowned as she pressed herself close to Dinobot's body. She refused to look at him as she hid her face in the smaller dinosaur's scales and whimpered.

"Inferno," the Predacon leader said.

"Yes, my Queen?" the fire ant asked.

"I can't get a good look at the human," he said. "Would you kindly detach her from the traitor and bring her over to me for a better look."

"Yes, Royalty," the ant said, walking over to the girl.

Yume looked at the ant in horror and aimed a kick at him. She got him in the knee and a loud clang filled the room but it didn't seem to hurt him any. Dinobot turned to the fire ant and snarled. "Leave her be!"

Blackarachnia, who seemed to be looking for a reason to wack the raptor, reacted violently and kicked the him in the head. With a grunt he fell to the floor. The human girl let out a slight scream and put her hands over her mouth as she stared down at the half senseless Dinobot. One commanded from Megatron had Waspinator and Scorponok, who had followed the other two robots into the room, dragging Dinobot away for the time being. Megatron said he'd "deal" with the traitor later. The human girl watched them drag him away before Inferno grabbed her arm and brought her up to Megatron.

The Predacon leader knelt down to her height and grinned at her. "Hello there, human," he said. He gave her a look. "Hmm you look different than the early human are suppost to."

"What?" she asked, staring at the Predacon leader.

"Hmmm. Nevermind," he said. "It's not important now, no."

She was brave enough to ask. "Why do you want me?"

He chuckled. "It's quite simple, my dear human," he said, putting his huge purple hand on her shoulder. She bent her knees at the weight. "I wanted to see you for myself. After I heard that some of my men had spotted a human I up and decided I'd like to see it for myself. And here you are. I get to see that human, and quite a pretty one at that, yessssss."

Against her better judgement and the uneasy feeling in her stomach Yume felt herself blush.

"Royalty," Inferno said. "What should I do with the human?"

"Leave her here with me for now," he said. "I would like to have a talk with it, yess." he looked at the other Preds in the room. "Leave us."

They quickly complied.

Yume watched them go, the uneasy feeling in her stomach getting worse. She started feeling as if she had just stepped into a lion's den.

_A/N_

_I am sooooo depressed! I'm trying to get off some meds and I got depressed. I'm so depressed my inspiration has been killed! I'll try to finish the fic but I'll be away next week and I'm afraid by the time I get back I won't wanna finish it. Hopefully my older brother will get his butt in gear and order the Beast Wars season DVDS soon so I won't lose my inspiration. I AM SO SORRY THIS CHAPTER SUCKED! I BLAME MY DEPRESSION WHICH IS MAKING ME THINK WRITING THIS FIC IS WORTHLESS. _

_Sniff sniff... I just hope I don't kill myself before then..._

_When I get back I promise to try to make the next chapter better. See you all in two weeks!_

_On. By The way. I finished the other Beast Wars fanfic I was working on. It's called "Toxic Flames" it's a little weird but please check it out anyway. _


	7. Chapter 7

**Shojin what gave you the idea that I was going to turn her into a robot? Why would I wanna do that anyway? This isn't a Beast Machines fanfic and even if it was I still wouldn't turn her into a robot. **

Chapter 7

Yume stared up at Megatron, her fear making her heart pound so loudly it was almost audable. What did this purple robot want to talk to her about? Was he going to kill her? She told herself that was stupid. Why would he want her so badly just to kill her? Did he have some other reason for wanting her? Was he going to force her to do something she didn't want to do? She noticed Megatron was studying her intently. She wrapped her arms around herself, not liking how he was looking at her. _Can robots be perverts too? _she wondered. "Please stop looking at me like that," she begged.

Megatron cocked his head at her. "Like what?" he asked.

She stepped back. "The way you're looking at me," she replied. "I don't like it..."

"Oh," he said. "I am terribly sorry. Is there some other way I should be looking at you?"

_Is he being sarcastic? _"..."

"I was just studying you," he replied. "I thought for sure the humans would look different than this at this time in history, yesss."

"Huh?" she stared at him. "What do you mean?'

He waved her question off. "It's not important," he said. "But it seems I have made a mistake or..." he rubbed his chin thoughfully. "This could be interesting...yessss..."

Yume had no idea what he was talking about and didn't ask. She just kept on having an uneasy feeling in her stomach.

"So what have the Maximals been telling you about me?" he asked, leaning toward her again.

She took a few steps back then asked. "What do you mean?"

"Oh come now," he said. "I'm sure the Maximals have been telling you how much of a threat I am. I'm sure they told you that if I got my hands on you I'd probably destroy you or something to that affect."

"Well," she said. "They didn't say much about you besides the fact that you'd probably do anything to get me and they didn't want you to because you might use me for your own gain."

"Hmmm. That's pretty accurate," he said, thoughtfully. "But tell me. How did you wind up here in the first place?"

"I don't know. It was an accident," she said. "I found this thing in the park and when I touched it it sent me here." She wondered why she was telling him all of this. For all she knew he might try to steal the item she'd used to get there and use it to transport himself to her world. Maybe she was telling him this stuff because for some reason she felt she could trust him even though she knew better. She didn't know why she felt that way but she figured it had something to do with the way he was acting and talking. He didn't seem a thing like the Megatron she'd imagined. _Maybe I've been letting my imagination run away wih me too much..._

"What was the thing you used?" he asked.

She shook her head. "I don't know," she replied.

"Where is it?" he inquired putting out his hand. "I might be able to tell you what it is, yess."

"I gave it to the Maximals," she replied directly.

He didn't seem happy at her reply and she couldn't say she cared. She didn't trust him. Even if he seemed polite and harmless for the moment she couldn't be too sure what his temper was like. For all she knew he was a berserker.

"Why would you do something like that?" he demanded, his voice not as calm as before.

She frowned at him and stepped further back. He was starting to sound dangerous. Maybe he was like the Megatron she'd imagined after all.

Megatron glared at her. _Stupid anthripoid..._Whatever he'd wanted to get from her didn't seem possible now. She seemed like a disappointment. He had half a mind to just kill her and be done with it but he didn't really want to do that. She was still interesting enough for him to use some other way. Maybe he could get something from her after all...

"It's not important now, no," he said, waving his former question off. He turned from her and rested his head in his hand. "Do you know what planet this is?"

_Huh? _She stared at him. Why was he asking her that? Why was he suddenly changing the subject? To be honest she wasn't sure what planet she was on. For all she knew she had landed on the planet Naboo from _Star Wars_. She noticed he was giving her an expectant look as if he figured she _should_ know. She just had to be honest.

"No," she replied. "I don't know what planet I am on but by things that you have said it seems that you know."

He smiled at her in a way that seemed to say he felt sorry for her. "Now why would _I _know what planet we are on?" he asked. "My ship crash landed here by mistake. Yessss."

Yume said nothing. She had a feeling he was lying, but why? Why would he lie to her about the planet? What did he know that she didn't and why would he keep it from her?

* * *

Tigatron was totally unaware of any of the events happening so far. He hadn't been told about the girl so when Airazor flew to the snowy region of the planet where he was stationed the Siberian tiger was surprised but happy to see her again.

"Hello Airazor!" he called to her. "What brings you to this region?"

The falcon girl, who was in beast mode, flew to the cliff where he was standing and landed beside him. "Optimus wanted me to come get you," she replied, looking at the tiger.

Tigatron was surprised. Optimus hardly ever asked the tiger to leave his post unless something very important or urgent was happening. The tiger got the feeling this was the case now. "What happened?" he asked.

"I can't explain it," she said, looking away. "Not very well anyway."

This was a surprise. Usually she'd come right out and tell him what was wrong. Did it have something to do with them. "You don't want to do this anymore?" he asked. "Do they know?"

She looked at him. "That's not it!" she exclaimed. "But no they don't know, even if they did it wouldn't matter. The problem has nothing to do with that."

"Then what is it?"

The falcon girl shook her head. "You'll find out later." she transformed to robot mode. "Come on. Let's get going."

* * *

Tarantulas had also taken an interest in the human girl. Aside from the fact that her blood probably tasted wonderful the spider scientist could think of other uses for her. Of course he couldn't get his claws on her yet, she was still with Megatron, but when he could he'd put her to good use. For the moment he would just watch and wait. He knew his chance would come. It almost always did.

* * *

Dinobot glared at Inferno who was walking back and forth in front of the raptor's cage, holding his huge flamethrower high. The raptor was getting sick of watching the mindlessly loyal fire ant pace in front of him and wished he would just go away. If the raptor hadn't been confined he could have easily offed the ant but that wasn't likely to happen while he was a prisoner. He silently cursed Optimus Primal and the other Maximals for giving him such a stupid assignment. None of this would have happened if the human girl hadn't of been dumped on him. He could have been doing something more worth his while right now. But no! Optimus had ordered him to be baby-sitter to a being that couldn't even defend itself. He'd tried to use flattery to get the raptor to take on the responcibility. Sure it had worked to an extend but now look where that got him?

Captured by his former comrads and locked in a cell being guarded by a stupid, pyromaniac fire ant.

As for the girl... Dinobot could only guess what was happening to her right now. Part of him wished she were being blasted right now and the other part... it was worried about her and hoped she was okay.

* * *

"So, why don't you tell me your name?" Megatron asked.

Yume said nothing. She stared at his crooked smile. She didn't trust him. She wasn't about to tell him. She shook her head. "I can't do th-that," she said quietly.

Megatron frowned. "Oh, come on now," he said. "What's in a name? Would it really hurt you to tell me your name, my dear human child?"

_Yes, it would. I don't want you knowing it. _She shook her head again. "N-no," she said.

The Predacon leader frowned.

* * *

"I can't believe ol' Chopper-face would be so irresponcible!" Rattrap exclaimed when he heard the news. "We told him not to take her outside and what does he do? He goes and does it anyway and now where are they? Stuck somewhere with the Preds!"

"We don't know if that's what happened," Rhinox told him. "For all we know they could be going for a walk."

"A _walk_?" the rat exclaimed, staring at the rhino. "You saw how Dino-butt was treatin' that girl! There's no way in the Pit that she willin'ly go anywhere with him. If she did he'd have to drag her kickin' and screamin'!"

"So what are you suggesting?" Rhinox demanded. "That he took the girl somewhere and killed her?"

"Eh, I wouldn't put it past him." Rattrap said, shrugging. "Once a Pred always a Pred."

"Stop that!" Airazor shouted, getting sick of hearing that all the time. "Dinobot's not like that and you know it! His code of honor would not allow him to do something so heartless!"

"What do you know about it, bird-lady?" Rattrap shot back, ready to challenge her. "He's a Pred! Preds don't play by the rules." the rat looked at Optimus. "Right, boss-monkey?"

"I agree with Airazor," Optimus said, also getting sick of Rattrap always saying that about the raptor when he wasn't around. "Dinobot's a creature of honor. He might not of liked being ordered to protect the girl but he won't do anything to harm her."

"I still say he's responcible for her disappearence somehow." he insisted.

"Shut up Ratrap." everyone ordered.

The rat knew when he was out numbered. "Fine, fine," he said, waving his hand. "But I still say we can't trust him."

The others ignored him. "So what are we going to do about this?" Rhinox asked.

"We're going to need to look for them," Optimus replied. "I don't know where they went or what happened to them but we'll have to draw any conclusion." he looked at Airazor. "Airazor. I want you to go check out the Predacon base. Take Rattrap with you." Airazor frowned but Optimus ignored her. He looked at everyone else. "The rest of us will look in other places."

Everyone scrambled.

"I just hope you're wrong about Dinobot," Airazor said as she and Rattrap left the base.

* * *

"So Dinobot was the one given the responcibility of taking care of you?" Megatron asked, once again changing the subject. He smiled mockingly. "He didn't do a very good job, nooo."

Yume still said nothing. She didn't know Dinobot that well and was still scared to death of him. She couldn't say anything to make the Predacon think otherwise.

"Did you know Dinobot is a Predacon?" Megatron asked.

Yume stared at him in horror. She remembered what Dinobot had said when they'd entered the Predacon base earlier.

_"Megatron is about to regain the two things he lost. The Predacon that betrayed him and the human that escaped his grasp..."_

She wondered what he'd ment by that. Now she knew he'd been talking about himself. "He... is..!" she exclaimed.

"Yess," Megatron said, putting his hand around her shoulders and leaning close as if sharing a secret. "He was a Predacon before he went crawling to the Maximals. He's only loyal to them because they felt sorry for him."

"That's not true," she protested though she had no idea what she was talking about. "I'm sure he's loyal to them because they trust him."

"They _don't_ trust him," Megatron corrected her. "They know that as soon as he gets his chance he'll take over."

Yume didn't reply.

"Dinobot is only with the Maximals because he figures sooner or later he can become their leader," Megatron went on. "When he is he'll force them to come after me then kill them when he has no further use for them. Dinobot is a lot smarted than he looks and the biggest traitor this side of Cybertron."

"Why do you say that?" she asked.

"He betrayed me," Megatron replied angrily, slamming his fist down hard on a computer keyboard. "That trechorus raptor cannot be trusted." he looked at the girl. "I'm surprised he hasn't used you for his own gain yet."

"What do you mean?"

"Dinobot will do anything to get what he wants," the Predacon leader replied. "He'll use _anyone_ to get what he wants. He cannot be trusted. I would advice you to be wary around him."

Yume already was but for other reasons. If what Megatron was saying was true she'd have other reasons to be scared of the raptor. Part of her hoped the Predacon T-Rex was lying. "Why are you telling me this?" she asked, her voice slightly suspicious. "Are you trying to make me hate him?"

"Whatever would give you that idea, my dear?" he asked innocently. "I was just warning you in case he turns on you." He probed her toward a door. "Come. Let me show you around the base."

Yume let him lead her out of the control room, knowing if she tried to resist he might get angry and hurt her. Though he seemed calm and harmless she could sense that more violent side hiding just under the surface. Megatron was someone she wouldn't dare cross, not while she was vunerable and unprotected.

* * *

The _Darkside_ really lived up to its name. The ship was big and dark and seemed to house the darker side of the transformers she'd met before. She stayed close to Megatron, though she had no idea why he was showing her around the ship or why he seemed to want to show her the rooms of the other transformers in the ship. She knew better than to try to run away. She wearly eyed his T-Rex head arm, picturing what it could do to her body if he ever decided to use it on her.

When Megs had opened Terrorsaur's room he'd discovered the flying dinoaur and Waspintor fighting on the floor. Megatron yelled at them to "stop goofing off" and shut the door quickly, looking embarressed. Yume didn't know why he looked that way but for some reason she started getting weird ideas that she shook out of her head. _They're not gay! _Tarantulas' room was locked so Megatron couldn't bother him and so was Blackarachnia's. Inferno wasn't in his room because he was watching Dinobot and Scorponok was in his room staring at a picture of Megatron and talking woefully to it about not getting any respect and how much he hated the suck up Inferno who seemed to be trying to get all of Megatron's attention. Megatron scolded him for making assumptions and startled to scorpion so bad he dropped the picture and it shattered when it hit the floor. Megs and Yume left him staring mournfully at the broken frame.

When they got to Megatron's room Megatron went in first and seemed to do a quick cleaning job. Something flew toward the girl and she ducked to avoid it. The thing hit the wall, then the floor and let out a squeeky sound on impact. She looked toward it and spotted a rather large sized rubber ducky on the floor.

_What the? _she knelt down and picked it up, staring at the thing like it was a three eyed alien. _Why is Ernies rubber ducky here? _she saw two purple feet near her and looked up. Megatron frowned down at her.

"Uh...," she said, looking guiltily at the rubber ducky in her hands. "Is this yours?" she held it up.

"Uh. noooo," he said quickly, yanking it out of her hands and throwing it into the room. She heard it make a squeeky sound when it hit the floor and giggled. "That belongs to um... Dinobot..."

"Dinobot?" she said. Somehow she couldn't imagine Dinobot owning or even bothering to_ touch _a giant rubber ducky. _At least it's not pink..._

"Yess," Megatron said, grabbing the girl by the back of her shirt and standing her up. "He left it here when he defected and didn't bother trying to come get it back."

"..." Yume gave him a look that said she didn't believe him. He smiled at her strangely then everything went black.

* * *

Floating... Floating... Floating in a sea of stars. Yume felt nothing as she slowy drifted through the far regions of space. She heard a voice calling to her. A voice whose owner she couldn't see. She felt she needed to find the owner. Find out why it was calling to her. Find out what it wanted.

_I'm coming... stay where you are... I'll come to you..._

She drifted toward a light that got bigger and brighter a she got closer. Suddenly a bright sparkling ball of light drifted toward her. She put out her hands and the thing hovered just above them. Somehow it seemed familiar...

_It's not my time yet... I need to come back... Bring... me..._

"YOU KILLED HER!" a loud, angry voice broke into the quiet galaxy just then and Yume began becoming aware of the real world. She started to become aware of a splitting headache and the fact that she felt sick.

"You have no need to worry about your girlfriend, Dinobot," another voice said. "I didn't kill her. Yet. I just knocked her out so she wouldn't put up a fuss when I brought her down here."

"You are lying!" the voice that belonged to Dinobot shot back. "She is dead! She has not moved an inch since you put her there!"

"If I had killed her I wouldn't have put her in a cage!"

"You would _so _have!" Dinobot protested. "You would have brought her dead body to me to gloat!"

"I don't need to show you a _corpse_ to gloat!"

"So you _admit _she is dead!"

"I never said that, you no good-"

Yume moaned and sat up. The two voices grew quiet and when the girl opened her eyes she found herself in a cage. She looked around herself and spotted Dinobot, still in beast mode, and Megatron, in robot mode, staring at her.

"You see, my accussive former friend," Megatron said looking back at Dinobot. "I didn't kill her just like I said."

Dinobot snarled something that couldn't be understood then turned away from Megatron. He glanced over at Yume and she might have been imagining it but it looked like relief was on his face.

Megatron left the room without any other word, he seemed mad though. Yume watched him go then tucked her legs up to her chest. She wasn't sure what had happened after she'd given Megatron back his ducky but whatever he'd done to her had made her black out. The headache gave her an idea but if he had knocked her out wouldn't he have killed her with a blow he would have given her head? _I guess not, _she thought. She glanced over at Dinobot. He had lain down but his head was still up and alert, his eyes caught her looking at him and he looked away.

"Dinobot?" she said after a moment.

"What?" he asked, his voice sounding annoyed.

"Are you really a Predacon?"

_A/N_

_I knew it! Camp killed my inspiration! I am so angry! Now the rest of the fic is going to stink! I just know it. I HATE THIS CHAPTER! HATE IT! HATE IT! HATE IT! (throws chapter on floor and stomps on it) ARGH!!!! PLEASE STAY WITH ME! I'LL TRY TO MAKE THE NEXT CHAPTER BETTER! I PROMISE!_

_For some weird reason my sister (who hasn't even read the story) thinks that my girl and Dinobot should fall in love. Well what can I say? My sister is into romance. I for one don't want them to fall inlove because it's been done so many times and that would just be weird cuz he's like 8 feet tall. _

_Hey I got a question. Does the Beast Wars International website allow fanfics with chapters? _

_Question number 2 and 3. Do you think I should make more stories about Yume than just this one? I know this is a weird time to ask since this one isn't done yet but I got other ideas while up at camp but I'm not sure if I want to do them. Also do you guys think I should write a Beast Machines related fanfic that brings Dinobot back? I saw a lot of Tecno-Organic Dinobot art on Deviantart and I keep getting the urge to write one. Should I and if I did would you read it?_


	8. Chapter 8

**I'm not going to make Dinobot and Yume fall inlove. The farthest their relationship would ever go is like a brother/sister, father/daughter thing, though Dinobot as a father figure would be a little weird. Meh, it could happen. lol. My sister should stop watching chick flicks. **

CHAPTER 8

Dinobot snapped his head back toward her. His face filled with anger as he glared at her accusingly. "Who told you that?" he demanded.

Yume stammered as she answered, frightened by his reaction. "M-Megatron,"she replied. _Oh God! He hates me now!_

"Why would he tell you that?" he snarled.

"I-I don't know," she replied. "Why? Is he lying?"

He ignored her question. "How _dare _he tell you that," he growled. "You have no right to know."

She didn't know what to think now. "So he's not lying?"

The look he gave her made her glad that the two had been put in seperate cages. "That is not for you to know," he growled.

"So he's _not_ lying?" she asked again, hiding half of her face in her knees.

He growled but did answer honestly. "No he is not."

"He's not?" she asked. "You _are_ a Predacon?"

"A _former _Predacon," he corrected. "I changed my loyalties shortly after we crash landed on this Primus forsaken planet."

"Why?" she asked, her eyes meeting his for a moment. "Why did you change your loyalties?"

He said nothing. She could tell he didn't want to answer. She could understand if he was ashamed of what he'd done or just didn't want to talk about it though it troubled her. She didn't want to push it and make him angry. If he wanted to tell her he'd do it on his own accord. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to," she said. "I only asked because I was hoping that Megatron would be wrong about you."

The raptor looked surprised. "Why would you want that?" he asked.

"I don't know," she told him honestly. "He said some things about you that didn't seem right. He said you'd do anything to get what you wanted. It didn't really seem to fit the way I thought of you."

Dinobot still refused to talk.

"It's okay," she said, her voice full of sincere understanding. "You don't have to tell me. I'm sure you're ashamed of it."

"_ASHAMED_!?" he demanded, looking back at her, his face full of rage. "I am not ashamed of _anything!"_

"I-I-'m sorry," she said, scooting away from him even though they were in serperate cages and he couldn't get to her even if he wanted to. "I just thought that was the case since you weren't telling me if it was true or not."

The raptor sighed. _Infernal wench... _"I am not ashamed of what I once was," he told her.

She sensed he wanted to open up to her but seemed afraid to. Maybe he thought she'd hate him even more. She didn't know why it mattered to him. When did he care what she thought? "Why don't you tell me about it?" she asked. When he hesitated she added. "Whatever you tell me won't be told to anyone else. I promise I won't say anything. Cross my heart"

_Cross my heart... _"...Fine... Here is how it was..."

* * *

Tarantulas was working on something in his lair as he watched Yume and Dinobot on a computer screen in his room. "So she's finally away from Megatron," he said. "Tehehhehee. Now I can-"

"What are you doing?" asked a femanine voice behind him.

"You!" he exclaimed turning around and blocking the monitor with his body as he stared at Blackarchnia who stood behind his with her hands on her hips. "What are you doing here?!"

"I was just wondering what you've been up to," she said, walking up to him. "I didn't see you when the insect and I got back and I wondered where you had gotten to." she smirked. "I thought for sure you'd want to see the human when she was brought in."

"I'll have a look at her later," he said, turning away and shutting off his computer. "Now leave. I'm busy right now."

"Busy with what?" she presisted.

"It is none of your concern," he said with annoyance. "Now would you please leave me be? I have work to do."

The black widow frowned at him. _He's hiding something... as usual..._ she figured. _I wonder what it is this time...? _"Okay," she said turning away. "But when you want to see the girl she's in the dungeon."

* * *

"So this was the wrong planet you were looking for?" she asked, after he'd told her a bit of the story. "I noticed the two moons last night. For a moment I thought this planet might be Mars but Mars is red and I doubt would ever support life."

Dinobot made a strange sound at that statement and Yume stared at him. It sounded like he was chuckling but trying not to sound like he was. _Is he laughing at me?_

"Mars would be the least likely planet to compare this one to," he said after he composed himself. "But whatever one this is, it is not the planet we were looking for."

He hadn't explained why they had wanted to come to Prehistoric Earth in the first place. She wanted to know though she had a feeling if she found out she might not like the answer. "Why did you want to come to Prehistoric Earth in the first place?"

* * *

Terrorsaur kicked Waspinator out of his room when the wasp accidently knocked off one of the flying dinosaur's arms. Now the wasp walked down the hall rubbing his rear and asking "Why univerzzze hate Wazzpinator?" as Terrorsaur angrily stomped his way to the CR baths. On the way he ran into Tarantulas who seemed to be having one of his laughing fits. The flying dinosaur had no idea why the tarantula was laughing and wasn't sure he wanted to know. He had a guess, though, so he bothered to ask. "What's so funny?"

Tarantulas stopped laughing and looked at Terrorsaur. "Oh nothing, tehehehe," he replied, putting up a claw. "I was just wondering how Megatorn would react if someone stole his duck."

Terrosaur gave the spider a look. _Who do you think you're kidding? _he thought. _You're up to something and I bet it has to do with that human girl..._ an idea came to Terrorsaur and he pushed past Tarantulas, an evil smile on his face. He had a plan but he couldn't put it into action until he got out of the CR bath...

* * *

"So you stole the Golden Disk and wanted to come to Prehistoic Earth to change history?" Yume said, a little surprised at the explaination, which had been pretty long.

"Yes, that is the reason we came," he replied.

"Why would you want to do that?"

"Because it would have made things right," he answered. "The rest of the Predacons and I are treated like we aren't equal to the sentimantal Maximals." he looked away and snarled. "It is not right."

Yume said nothing. This story reminded her of something she'd written in school a few years ago. About how after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Japanese Americans were treated with suspicion, as if they had something to do with what had happened. It hadn't been fair and people had no right to blame the Japanese Americans for what their former country had done. Or when the Twin Towers had been destroyed. People had no right to treat American Muslims that way either. It wasn't right or fair. _It's kind of how I'm treated at school, _she thought. _But I am not being blamed for anything..._

"That's not right," she finally said. "They shouldn't blame you for what happened in the past. It's not _your _fault."

Dinobot stared at her. Did she feel sorry for him? He hadn't wanted her pity. He had only told her what she'd wanted to know. "Do not feel sorry for me," he said. "I do not want or need your pity."

"I'm not pitying you," she corrected him. "I'm just saying that isn't right. The Decepticons might be your ancestors but that doesn't give the Maximals the right to treat you badly. You can't be blamed for what happened."

She didn't even seem to care about the reason for them stealing the disk. He wasn't sure if she was stupid or whatever. _Why would she care? _

Her next question startled him. "Does Megatron still have the Golden Disk?"

* * *

Rattrap and Airazor argued about Dinobot all the way to the Predacon base. "I don't see why you always have to get that way about him all the time," she said, flying above the rat. "He hasn't done anything to you."

"You aren't around all the time," Rattrap told her. "He has done plenty to me."

"I'm sure he had his reasons," she shot back.

"Why are you even botherin' to stick up for the lizard?" the rat demanded. "Do you have some kinda thing for him or somethin'?"

"_No," _she replied. "I am just saying I am sure he has a reasons for getting mad at you. You're not the most get alongable person, ya know."

"Eh, who asked ya?" he said. "At least _I_ don't glare at everyone the second I walk into the room."

* * *

Dinobot stared at her. "Why do you want to know that?" he asked her.

"I'm just asking," she replied, changing position. "I don't have any other reason."

Dinobot didn't believe her. He had a feeling she wanted to see the disk but there was no way she could. If Megatron still had it, which Dinobot didn't doubt he did, he'd have it guarded by something. It would be dangerous if the girl tried to get a look at it, not that that was possible anyway.

"It would not be a good idea," he told her. "Just forget it. You cannot get to it anyway."

Yume wasn't sure about that. She eyed the bars surrounding her on all sides then reached out to touch one. There was a buzzing sound then she cried out as her hand was burned by the heat from the red rays of light. She put her hand in her mouth and whimpered.

"What are you doing?" he demanded. "You cannot do that! You are not a machine! You will just get hurt!"

"Why didn't you tell me that before I touched it?" she asked, tears streaming down her face.

He snorted. "Sometimes it is better to learn things the hard way," he replied.

She glared at him and cursed under her breath. _Meanie! _she thought.

"If you want to get out of there you have to turn off the power," he told her. "But you cannot do that because the controls are out of your reach."

Yume looked at him then at the control panel. It wasn't hard for her to calculate the distance. He was right. It_ was _too far away for her to reach. She crawled to the edge of the bars and sat back just far enough to keep her face from touching the bars. _I wonder if I can find some way to touch the control panel without hurting myself. _She reached down reach into her backpack and discovered it wasn't there. "Where is it?" she asked panicking.

"Where is what?"

"My backpack?"

"Megatron took it."

"WHAT?!"

* * *

Tarantulas peeked around the corner and felt a foot hitting him in the face. "DWAAAAAAAAAh!" he exclaimed, falling onto the floor. He looked up and saw Terrorsaur standing over him. "You! But I thought!"

"Waspinator gave me back my arm," Terrorsaur replied. "Now I would like to ask you what do you think you're doing?" he folded his arms and leaned against the wall.

"I don't have to tell you," the spider replied, getting up.

"Oh yeah?" Terrosaur asked, moving away from the wall and getting into the other Predacon's face. "I know what you're doing. I know you're going to take that girl."

"How would you know?"

"I'm not that stupid," the flying dinosaur replied. "Well let me tell you something. I'm not letting you have her."

"And why not?"

"Because I'm going to get her first!"

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah!"

"We'll see about that!" Tarantulas pounced Terrorsaur.

* * *

Megatron might not have admitted it but he had been curious about the thing on Yume's back and when he'd knocked her out cold he'd taken her backpack and when he was sure he wouldn't be bothered he'd gone through it. He hadn't found much in it except Yume's math book, make up, and paper, lots of paper. At the bottom of the bag was her smelly gymn suite which he quickly stuffed back inside when he got a wiff of it.

"Ew, yuck!" he exclaimed, holding the pack at arm's length. "Humans are disgusting, yessss!"

Nothing inside was very interesting except... the sketch book. As soon as he'd opened the sketch pad he spotted the half done picture of Airazor. Though he didn't care a bit about the Maximal the excellance of the picture caught his attention. It looked almost exactly like the falcon girl.

_So, she's an artist, yesss. _he thought, setting the pad on his computer desk. "Hmm I wonder how well she'd draw me?"

* * *

Terrorsaur stepped aside and avoided the spider. Tarantulas flew by him and landed on the floor. Terrorsaur turned and booted him in the rear, sending him flying across the hall. The spider's head smacked into the wall and for a second he saw flying Waspintors in angel outfits before his eyes before he shook his head to clear it and turned on Terrorsaur. The dinosaur was already getting ready to kick him again. He grabbed Terrosaur's foot and threw into the air.

Terrorsaur sqwuaked loudly and flew upward, out of balance. He landed flat on his back with a metallic clang.

Tarantulas looked down at him and laughed. Terrorsaur growled at him and leapt to his feet, punching the spider right in the face.

* * *

Yume and Dinobot heard a commotion in the hall and looked toward the door just in time to see Terrorsaur and Tarantulas come crashing into the room, kicking and biting. The two watched the Predacons brawl. The two Preds weren't paying attention to anything around them and eventually crashed into the control panel. Yume watched the bars surrounding her flash then disappear. When this happened Dinobot, seeing his chance, transformed into robot mode. The two fighting Predacons stopped fighting just then and stared at him.

"The prisoners have escaped!" Terrorsaur exclaimed.

"Then get off me!" Tarantulas ordered, shoving the flying dinosaur off him.

The two started shooting at Dinobot and Yume. The girl screamed as a lazer bolt shot past her by inches. "Get out of here!" Dinobot shouted at her, looking down at her.

"But!" she exclaimed.

"Just go!" he snarled. "I can take care of them by myself."

Yume hesitated then dashed out the door the two Preds had smashed through and into the hall. Tarantulas saw her go. "She's getting away!" he exclaimed.

"Then go after her!" Terrosaur shouted, shooting at the raptor. "I can take care of him."

Tarantulas went into beast mode and left the room.

"Oh no, you _do not _!" Dinobot shouted starting after the spider.

Terrorsaur blocked his path. "Where do you think you're going?" he asked before shooting at the raptor.

* * *

Yume ran down the hall, totally lost. She had no idea where she was going or where the exit was but her fear pushed her farther down the winding halls. _I have to get out of here, _she kept thinking. _Have to get out of here. _A door loomed in front of her. She didn't stop running. She ran toward the door and put up her arms.

Suddenly the door opened and a figure stood in her way. She screamed but couldn't stop as she plowed right into it.

Waspintor didn't even know what hit him. Something crashed right into him and blew off his head. When his head hit the floor he spotted a figure dash down the hall. A figure with raven black hair.

* * *

Dinobot dodged Terrorsaur's firepower and shot back at him with his eye lazers. The flying dinosaur dodged the bolts and just kept firing. Dinobot reverted back into beast mode and lunged at Terrorsaur. Terrorsaur sqwuaked loudly before Dinobot landed on top of him, pinning him down with his feet.

"Let us see how_ you _like being in a cage," he snarled, going back into robot mode and picking the other dinosaur up by the throat. Terrorsaur let out gurgling sounds before Dinobot threw him into the cage and turned the bars back on. The raptor chuckled evilly to himself then ran out of the room, hoping Yume had gotten out of the ship like he had told her to.

* * *

Yume ran down the hall until she couldn't ran anymore. She slowed to as walk then leaned against the wall, panting heavily. "This ship is bigger than I thought," she told herself. "How am I ever going to get out of here?"

She looked around herself ,but everything still looked the same. It would be awhile before she got out of there. Her thoughts returned to Dinobot. _I hope he's okay. I hope he didn't get caught. _Something told her to go back and help him. _But what can I do? I don't have a weapon. I don't even have my backpack anymore. _Realizing she couldn't do anything she sighed and started walking down the hall, hoping she found the exit before the two robots told Megatron what had happened.

* * *

Megatron had heard the commotion and left his room, leaving her backpack and sketch pad on his comuter desk in his room. "I wonder what's going on now?" he asked himself as he ran down the hall. "Why do I get the feeling some of my minions are doing something stupid right now?"

* * *

Yume was still lost. She'd changed direction quite a few times but still wasn't getting anywhere. Everything still looked the same. The only good thing was that she hadn't run into any Predacons yet. She wasn't sure how long that would last, though, and quickened her pace. After a few more minutes she leaned against a wall and sighed. _I'm not getting anywhere. What am I going to do now. Maybe I should go look for-oops! _the wall behind her fell away and she lost her balance. She landed on her back on the floor and stared at the ceiling. "I should learn not to lean against the walls around here," she said out loud. "I always seem to land on the floor.. huh?"

Suddenly she noticed something bright above her and sat up, looking over at her shoulder. She spotted something glowing near the far wall and got up. She walked over to it and stared at the light. When she was close enough she stopped in her tracks and took in the object before her.

"What is-?" she began, her eyes on the round object that looked like a giant gold coin. "Is this what I think it is? Is this the Golden Disk?"

_A/N_

_I do like this chapter but I'm not entirely satisfied with it. For some reason it seems a little weird. Just to let you know. I'll be gone for a few days so I won't be able to update for awhile. Sorry. _

_The only pairing for Dinobot I would even consider (DBxBA and maybe DBxAR) is are joke pairings I would never write because people would kill me and it would be almost as bad as my InfernoxBlackarachnia one. lol. And no I won't even think about pairing him with Rattrap (EW!). He'd probably run the vermin through before that ever happened, lol. If I write more fics with her in it I'll probably change the Beast Wars storyline a bit because I don't want Dinobot to die! Code of Hero was the saddest episode I have ever seen. WHY DID YOU HAVE TO DIE AWESOME RAPTOR?! I don't like Beast Machines that much either. Everyone suddenly loses all the parts of their personalites that made them great, mostly Megatron. He became a big, fat, organic hating, wack job. _

_WEEE I'm so happy! I'm finally getting a Dinobot toy! No, not the original where he looked like he was painted nude the 10 anniversay one. Hehehe. Too bad he didn't come with the golden disks. All well I'll just give him some chocolate money to hold. _

_I am sorry if my logic is flawed. _


	9. Chapter 9

CHAPTER 9

Yume stared at the Golden Disk as it hovered slowly in circles around in its container. She slowly put out her hand but stopped before she touched the disk, remembering what had happened in her cell. She didn't know if there was some kind of security system guarding the disk but she wasn't about to find out the hard way twice. _So he __**does**__ still have it, _she thought, studying the symbols on the disk as is rotated weightlessly in front of her. "I wonder what it says?"

* * *

Tarantulas had lost sight of the girl after she'd run over Waspintor and was only guessing where she would go. He figured she would try to escape the base but she didn't know where the exit was so the best she would end up becoming was lost. He chuckled to himself. If he could find her before anyone else he would be able to get her out of the base without anyone realizing where she was. He just hoped they would be too busy trying to stop Dinobot to bother looking for her, since he could do more damage than the girl could. Or so he hoped. Then again, Dinobot wasn't as important as the girl so maybe he would be ignored slightly and most of the attention would be on finding the girl. That would just make things harder. The spider just hoped Terrorsaur wasn't also looking for her at the moment.

_Where are you, my prey? _he thought, crawling along the ceiling. _I know you can't get far..._

* * *

Dinobot ran into Scorponok in the hall. The scorpion stared at the raptor in shock. "How did you get out of there?" he asked before the raptor punched him out.

"I do not have time for you," he growled to the sensless scorpion. He looked around the base for a moment then went left. _Somehow I doubt she left the base, _he realized as he ran. _She has probably gotten lost... _the thought was not comforting. _Why do I get the feeling she might be getting herself into more trouble?_

* * *

Megatron entered the dungeon room sometime after Dinobot had left and found only Terrorsaur locked in a cell. The flying dinosaur was beating against the bars, shouting in his screechy voice. "Get me out of here!"

"How did you end up in there?" Megs demanded, turning off the power. "And where is the traitor and that girl?"

"They got away," the flying dinosaur replied, glad to finally be out of the cell. "Tarantulas let them out."

Megatron frowned. "Why that no good scheming spider," he growled, turning away. "Come on. We must find them before he does."

"Yes, Megatron," Terrorsaur said, saluting. When Megatron's back was turned Terrorsaur smirked. _This should make things easier..._

* * *

"I wonder how the power works?" Yume asked herself out loud as she looked around the room, searching for something to control the power. She didn't spot a control panel though. "It has to be here somewhere." she muttered, starting to move away from the disk.

She spotted it then and looked at all the buttons on it. Her eyes centered on the red button on the panel, which lay on a large metal desk. In movies it was always the red button. That's when she spotted something else. Her backpack and sketch pad where on the computer desk by the controls. "Ah hah!" she grabbed her pad and backpack then looked back at the panel. She reached out her hand and touched the big red button.

Behind her she heard a loud CLUNK!

* * *

Dinobot was running down the hall when he thought he heard a loud metallic sound, as if something heavy had fallen. He stopped in his tracks and looked toward where the noise had come from. He spotted something in one of the rooms.

* * *

Yume turned back to the spot where the disk had been and saw it had fallen to the floor. She walked over to it and knelt down on the floor, stuffing her sketch pad into her pack as she stared at it. With her other hand she reached out and touched the disk's surface. It felt cold and smooth. She ran her fingernail over the symbols. _I wish I knew what it said..._

"What in the infernal are you doing?" a voice behind her demanded, making her jump.

Yume hopped to her feet and instantly turned around. She saw Dinobot standing in the doorway, glaring at her. "Uh.." she began, looking around guiltily.

"What the hell are you doing?!" he demanded, his voice angry and annoyed but also relieved. "I told you to get out of here!"

"I was trying to," she said quickly. "But I got lost and fell in here and-" she pointed to the disk on the floor. "Look what I found."

Dinobot looked down at the disk. A strange look crossed his face as he stared at it. His eyes seemed to blurr and his mouth opened part way, showing off his razor sharp teeth. The girl stared at him, wondering what he was thinking. He reached down and picked up the disk, studying the markings on it. He looked like he was reading it.

"What does it say?" she asked him.

He still stared at the disk but opened his mouth as if to reply. His movements almost seemed mechanical, as if he couldn't control what he was doing or saying. "It says.." his voice trailed off.

Suddenly they heard voices in the hall. Dinobot seemed to snap out of a trance and dropped the disk as he looked toward the door. He thought he'd heard Megatron.

"Come," he said, looking back at Yume. "We had better get out of here."

"But what about the disk?" she asked, looking at the Golden Disk on the floor.

He froze and a look of indescition crossed his face. He shook his head. "There is no time! We must leave it!"

Yume did not want to leave, not without the disk. She froze. "But we can't!" she exclaimed. "We can't leave it here!"

"Oh _yes_, we_ can_," he said, starting to move. He reached out to grab her arm. "Let us go!"

"No!" she shouted, moving back. "We have to take it with us!"

"WHY?" he demanded. _Why does she want it so badly?_

She didn't answer. She looked at him with pleading eyes. "Please?"

He stared into her eyes, those big gray pools, and finally gave in. He snorted and shrugged. "Fine," he said. "But you are carrying it. Put it in your backpack."

It took some effort and some help from Dinobot to do that. When it was finally in the pack the girl closed it up and slung it on her back. When she stood she felt the weight of the disk pulling her down but forced herself to stay upright. Dinobot went into beast mode and threw her onto his back. Before she knew what he was doing, he started running. She wrapped her arms around his neck to keep herself from falling off.

* * *

Tarantuals was just down the hall from the room and would have entered it if not for the fact that as soon as he started for it his vision was suddenly filled with a tan and brown body running at him. "Oh no!" he exclaimed seconds before he was run over.

For a second the spider lay flattened on the floor, then, he righted himself and started after the thing, knowing full well what it was. _So he __**did**__ find her!_

* * *

"Why didn't any of you_ tell me_ you had found a human?" Tigatron asked Cheetor as the two cats ran across the plains.

"Sorry, Big Cat," Cheetor said to him. "I forgot to mention it to you when you called in your report."

Tigatron looked upset. "It's not something that would be easily forgotten," he told the cheetah.

"Sorry," Cheetor said. "I don't know why anyone else didn't tell you. You'd think they would. It seems like something that would interest you."

"It would," the tiger agreed. "Seeing an actual human would be a wonderful experience. This world has been lacking something and I feel a human might be the thing it needs."

"But it's just a girl," Cheetor said. "And not to deflate you excitement on finally seeing her or anything but whenever one of us meets her the first time she has the habit of showing fear."

"It's understandable," Tigatron told him. "Anyone who's not used to that sort of thing would be scared." he smiled. "I'm sure I wouldn't have that kind of problem."

Cheetor highly doubted that but who was he to blow up someone's confidence. Tigatron always seemed to be able to get along easily with the creatures of this planet so maybe he would be the only one the girl wouldn't freak out about when she saw him. _I hope he's right, _he thought. _If we find her, that is. I hope that girl is okay. I hope Dinobot's not scaring her too badly. I hope Rattrap is wrong and he had nothing to do with this..._

* * *

With the Predacons running around the base like confused Sparklings Dinobot and Yume were able to get out of the base pretty easily. Their only problem was the security system. As soon as it picked up Dinobot's Maximal signature it started firing. That, Dinobot knew, would tell Megatron and the others exactly where they were but he couldn't do anything about it carrying Yume. Instead he just avoided the system's fire power the best he could and ran as fast as he could away from the base.

About a half hour later, when they were sure they had gotten out of range, Dinobot stopped so Yume could get off his back. When she did she almost fell over because of the weight of the disk. "Whoa!" she exclaimed, flailing her arms.

Dinobot grabbed her arm and stood her upright.

"Thanks," she said, relieved that she hadn't fallen over. The ground wasn't stable in that region and one false move might send her into the lava pits.

The raptor made a noise but said nothing. He grabbed the strap of her backpack and started yanking at it.

"Hey!" she exclaimed, flopping up and down like a toy. "Stop that!" he stopped and let her go. She fell over. "Ow!"

She sat up and rubbed her head which she'd bonked against a rock. "What did you do that for?" she asked, looking up at the raptor. "If you wanted the disk you should have said something instead of treating me like a martini."

"I did not think you would give it to me if I asked," he replied, picking up her pack and rumaging through it.

"Why not?" she asked. _You know I'm scared of you. If you had asked me or ordered me to give you anything I would have without fighting. _

Dinobot finally got the disk out of her backpack. He transformed into robot mode and stared thoughtfully at the disk. Yume watched him. He seemed to change when he stared at the disk. Like it was hypnotizing him or something. There was something about it that she didn't understand. What was on it? What did it have to do with what happened in the past? Why did it make Dinobot act so strangely?

"Dinobot?" she said after a moment. "I think we'd better get out of here before Megatron finds us."

Dinobot lowered the disk and looked down at her. He nodded. "Yes," he said. "Let us be going." He put the disk back into her backpack and returned to beast mode. "Get on."

Against her better judgement and the voices in her head screaming "No!" she grabbed her pack off the ground and climbed on. When she was situated on his back she wrapped her arms around his neck. "Okay," she said.

He started running.

* * *

Megatron stared at the thing that had once held the Golden Disk. Empty. "No!" he exclaimed, smashing his fist down on the control panel. "This can't be happening!" He noticed the girl's backpack and sketchpad were missing as well. "That girl," he growled. "She and Dinobot must have taken it."

He looked back at Inferno and Terrorsaur who had followed him into the room. "Go outside and look for that little wench," he ordered. "Bring me back the disk and her head!"

"Yes, my queen," Inferno said saluting. He and Terrosaur turned to go.

Suddenly Megs thought better of that. In Inferno's zealousness to make his 'queen' proud he might torch the disk in torching the girl."Wait!" Megatron called to them.

They stopped and looked back at him.

"Forget about bringing me the girl's head," he said, shaking his finger. "That won't do, no. Bring her back. Alive."

"And what about the traitor?" Inferno asked. "Surely he'll be with her."

"Bring him back as well," Megatron replied folding his arms. He had a few things he wanted to say to the raptor. "Just this time make sure he is severely damaged and can't run away, yesss."

"Yes, my queen."

The fliers left the base. Megatron watched them go then stared forlornly at the spot where the disk had been. _So much for my mirror, yes.._

* * *

Dinobot and Yume entered a forest awhile later. It reminded the girl of the one she had found herself in after she'd accidently activated the thing that had brought her to this world. Yume got off Dinobot and let him transform again. This time he tried to get in contact with the Maximal base.

"Dinobot to Maximal base," he said into his intercom. Static. He growled.

"What's wrong?" the girl asked.

"We must be in Megatron's jamming zone," he replied. "I cannot get in contact with the base."

Yume didn't like that answer. If he didn't get in contact with the base how were they going to let the Maximals know where they were? How were they going to let them know they were okay?

She sat down on the ground and gently pulled the disk out of her pack, resting it on her lap she stared at her reflection in its surface. She noticed her hair was messed up and it looked like a bruise was appearing under her left eye. She wondered when she'd gotten that. She noticed Dinobot's reflection as well. Unlike her, he wasn't bruised at all, though his armor looked a bit scratched. She smiled. _He's not so scary when he's not showing off those teeth, _she thought.

She took her hair out of it's scrunchy. _My hair's a mess! _she thought, trying to fix it.

"What are you doing?" Dinobot asked when he noticed what she was doing.

"Fixing my hair," she said, retying her hair. "It got all messed up since I've been here and-" a strange sound came from her stomach.

"What was that?" he asked.

She blushed. "Uh... I hate to say it but I'm hungry," she said smiling nervously. "Can you umm get me something?"

"How do you think I'll be able to do that?" he demanded.

"I don't know," she said. "You could look for something in the woods."

He glared at her. Just when he thought she couldn't be more of a problem. Now she was hungry. He'd forgotten that organic beings needed to eat. But what did they eat? The last thing _he _remembered eating was his clone and he didn't have any of that left. She probably wouldn't have wanted to eat it anyway if he had. "What would you like?" he asked sounding sarcastic.

"Anything," she said, looking up at him. "Except meat. I'm a vegitarian."

Well at least he wouldn't have to kill anything. "Wait here," he said, pulling out his sword. "I will be right back."

Yume watched him go, wondering what he was going to do with his sword. _Hopefully he's just going to cut his way through the jungle, _she thought, watching him hack away at vines. _I'd hate to imagine him using that blade on a poor, helpless forest creature. I get the feeling if he ever found an injured rabbit he'd eat it on the spot. _

* * *

Tarantuals had lost Dinobot and Yume when they'd activated the serurity system and it had started firing. He had had to dive back into the base until the two had gotten out of range and the guns had stopped firing, so he would avoid accidently being shot himself. When he was sure the guns had finally deactivated he'd quickly left the base and began his search. If only he knew where they had gotten to. Since Tarantulas wasn't one to give up easily he told himself to keep looking until he found them, which was exactly what he was going to do. "You won't get away from me this time..."

* * *

Dinobot soon realized he hated forests. The underbrush kept tripping him and the vines, those infernla vines! kept dropping down from branches and wipping him in the face. When this happened for the tenth time he angrily grabbed the vine and yanked on it, only realizing too late that it was the tail of a very angry baboon. He had to run faster than he'd ever run before to get away from it before it ripped him apart. When he was a safe enough distance from it he turned toward the baboon and shot at it with his eye lazors. This scared the primate and it had scurried back into its tree, screeching loudly. The raptor sighed in relief and began to pick his way back to Yume. He had had enough of this forest and didn't care if she starved. If she wanted food she could just eat the grass she was sitting on. He wasn't going to blaze anymore trails just to get her a few berries.

When he got back, looking like he'd just been dropped into a ruffage heap, he found Yume munching happily on something in a suspicious metallic bag. When she heard his signature snarl she looked up and stared at him. "What happened to you?" she asked, her gray eyes wide as she took in the vegitation decorating the raptors metal body like a patchwork coat.

He dropped his sword and leaned against a tree. "I ran into a ruffage heap," he replied sarcasticly.

"Oh," she said.

"What is that?" he asked, pointing at the bag.

Yume held it up. "This?" she asked. "Chips. I found them in the one pocket of my backpack." she held it out to him. "Want one?"

No, he _did not _want one. The sight of the bag just made him mad. "ARGH!" he exclaimed, punching the tree. "I do not want your chips! Why did you not _tell me _you had food with you already?"

She blushed. "I didn't know I had it until I opened the pocket," she replied, embarressed. "You were already out of sight by then. Sorry."

The look he gave her told her she wasn't forgiven. She looked away from him, intimated by his stare and nervously munched on her chips. Dinobot watched her a moment then tried to brush the foliage off himself. When he was clean enough he went back into beast mode and lay down on the ground. Then he just sat there, watching her... Until he noticed she kept favoring her right hand, constantly putting it in her mouth to suck on it.

Finally he got up and walked over to her. "What is wrong with your hand?"

She looked up at him, her hand in her mouth. "Hmmm?"

He pointed. "Your hand," he replied. "What is wrong with it? Is that the one you burned?"

_No thanks to you, Roboraptor... _"Umm, yes," she said, holding it out to him. "But it's not that bad."

He took it and looked at it. The skin was red and some of it was covered in blisters. _This is bad, _he thought. _I forgot how delicate human bodies were. How can she stand it? _He knew there was nothing he could do about it. He didn't have anything to put on it and nothing to wrap it up in. He wasn't even sure how to treat a burn. Everytime he got burned he would just go into the CR chamber but this was different. The CR wouldn't work for her. _There must be someway to take care of this..._

_A/N_

_I have no idea if Megatron keeps the disk in his room so I guessed. For some weird reason I always thought those disks mezmorized Dinobot. lol Maybe I should write a fic about their hypnotic powers, hehehe. I really want to see the Transformers movie but I have no money for the ticket and I don't really like theators. I guess I'll have to wait till the DVD comes out to watch it. Wee I got another chapter done! I'm so happy! Yes that is right. Yume is hurt. hahahaa! Didn't think I'd be brave enough to try it. I had to. She is in the middle of a war! She had to get hurt. I know she only got hurt by her own stupidity but she still got hurt. Poor Dinobot. He has no idea how to fix it. What will he do now? _

_And I __**have **__heard Dinobot be sarcastic quite a few times so him being that way toward her is not out of character. I watched some episodes over as well so I know what I'm talking about. _

_This should tide you over until I get back._


	10. Chapter 10

**Shonin when you review could you please type slower or something? I sometimes can't understand half the things you write in them. **

**By the way; here is the disclaimer: I do not own Beast Wars. If I did Dinobot would have a girlfriend or something, there would be more femme bots, and he and Depth Charge wouldn't have died. (Neither would Inferno)**

CHAPTER 10

Yume stared at her hand then up at Dinobot. His concern had surprised her. Since when did he care about her? When did he care if she got hurt? _I wonder what brought this on?_ she thought to herself, looking at Dinobot's scaley hand. It was surprisingly soft, it felt almost like her baby brothers skin...

Dinobot saw the look on her face and whatever had made him concerned for her wound melted away. After a moment of staring at her burn he let her hand go and walked away from her, letting out a breathy sigh. She stared at him then her wound for a moment then stood up, suddenly thirsty. _Maybe I shouldn't have eaten those chips..._ She looked around herself._ I'm so thirsty but, where would water be?_

"What are you doing?" he asked her, when he looked back at her.

She met his gaze. Her eyes were unsteady and nervous. "I'm thirsty," she replied sounding as if he should already know the answer.

_Not again!_ First she was hungry, now she was thirsty. It was her _own fault _eating salty chips. _This is ridiculous! Now I'm going to have to find a stream or something for her to drink from...grrrr..._ "Fine," he said, grabbing her arm. He started moving. She cried out and he stopped. He let her go when he realized he'd hurt her.

She held her arm and stared at him, the fear from before back in them and seeming to be getting worse. She took a few steps away from him, holding her arm, suddenly fully aware of the burning pain in her hand. She ground her teeth, tears suddenly running down her cheeks, trying her best not to cry out at the pain, trying not to seem even weaker than she already was. _Why did he have to say something? I wouldn't have paid that much attention to it if he hadn't of said anything. _

She looked at him with those big gray eyes. He could tell she was in pain and he could read in her eyes that she blamed him for it. He frowned. What had he done? _She _was the one who burned her hand. He couldn't be blamed for that. Still, he knew she wouldn't see it that way because he hadn't even bothered to warn her about the bars. Maybe it _was _his fault, a little. He wasn't going to admit it though.

Suddenly he heard the sound of water. He listened hard as the girl stared at him then he said, reading the question in her eyes. "I hear water."

Her eyes suddenly softened as a sigh escaped her lips. He turned from her but looked back long enough to say. "Come."

She quickly grabbed up her backpack, ignoring the weight, and followed him deeper into the forest. A little later she and the raptor came upon a slowly flowing river. She stared at the water, relieved then quickly made her way over to it, thrusting her hand into it. Immediately the burn cooled off and she sighed again before scooping some water into her other hand and drinking it. Right now she didn't care what yuckies it might be inhabiting it, all she cared about it that she was no longer thirsty.

Dinobot watched her from a short distance away. She seemed to be all right and the water was shallow so she couldn't fall in and drown, not that that was what he was worried about, he could care less if she had. He went back into robot mode and leaned against a tree, crossing his arms and still keeping an eye on her. _Sentient beings are so fragile, _he thought. _Like porceline... like a spark... so easily harmed and ruined... How can such a species live for so long? _This thought brought his thinking back to the Golden Disk they'd taken with them when they'd escaped the Predacon base. It had mentioned humans helping during the Great War. Humans might be fragile but they could endure. They used more than brawn in things like that.

Suddenly a spray of water hit him in the face, yanking him out of his thoughts. He growled in anger, tearing away at the liquid soaking his face, as if it could be removed that easily. He glared at the stream, half expecting Rattrap to be standing there laughing at him, that sort of thing seemed like something he would do.

Dinobot saw no Rattrap though, only Yume, standing ankle deep in the water, her boots off and her hands dripping. She stared at him, her eyes wide with playfulness but also shadowed fear. So it had been _her! _He glared at her, contimplating how to react. He couldn't exactly come at her with his sword drawn like he might have done to the vermin. If he did she would probably accidently be killed. Instead he snarled at her and demanded. "What are you doing?!"

She met his eyes for a moment then looked away. "I'm sorry," she said, leaning down in the water and splashing it lightly. "I just thought we could have a little fun and..."

"Fun?!" he demanded, his voice more angry than he really felt. "There is no time for fun! You are in the middle of a situation. We stole the Golden Disk and Megatron has probably sent everyone to come after us. We should be preparing for a confrontation, not playing in the water like fools!"

Yume said nothing. She kept her eyes on the water and let her hand lazily make circles in the liquid. She'd only been trying to get him to stop frowning so much. She'd been hoping a little fun would make him nicer. But it hadn't worked. She concluded that he hated fun. All he thought about was the situation that she hadn't forgotten. She knew they had to be careful. She knew they were in even more trouble because they had stolen the disk. She knew the Predacons still wanted her for some reason. She just didn't want to be reminded about it anymore. She looked back up at him. He hadn't moved from his spot near the tree. He was still standing there, glaring at her with those red eyes. He seemed to be expecting her to say something. Apologize maybe? But why would she do that? She hadn't done anything _wrong_.

Instead she slowly made her way out of the stream and back onto the shore. She put her boots back on and walked up to him, keeping her eyes on his and forcing herself not to look away this time. His face looked a bit surprised that she was meeting his stare but he said nothing. She stood under him, only two inches away, and looked up at him. She hadn't really noticed how tall he was before and now guessed that he was about twice her size. She opened her mouth and asked in a low voice. "Why do you always think such things?"

He was taken aback by her question. He hadn't expected her to ask him such a thing. If it had been someone else he might have answered the question quite easily, or been offended, but now... something about the way she'd asked it gave him pause. He cared nothing for her but the tone of voice she'd used made him hesitate to answer. Why did he always think about such things? He'd never thought about it before and he didn't like thinking about it now. He clenched his teeth and snarled at her. This caused her to finally break eye contact and she retreated back to her backpack. He heard her mutter. "I'm sorry," as she went. She had _better_ be!

Yume sat down on the grass and stared at her reflection in the water. It frowned back at her and seemed to be scolding her, scolding her for being so bold. She quickly slapped it out of existance.

* * *

Tarantulas had finally found Yume and Dinobot's trail. He'd just happened to come across the freeway the raptor had created in the woods when he'd crashed through them. The spider laughed quietly to himself and headed down the freeway. He found the spot where they had been before they'd moved to the lake and paused a moment, listening. There was no way they could leave that quickly and not make a sound. Soon he heard the sound of voices. They were coming from his left. He quickly changed direction and ran toward them, still chuckling to himself.

* * *

Megatron stared forlornly at the spot where his disk had been. He didn't like the fact that it was stolen especially by a human girl and that taitor Dinobot. He hoped his minions would be able to get back but something told him they most likely wouldn't. He growled and pounded his fist on his desk. If you wanted something done right do it yourself, they always said. It was usually that way for him anyway. This time wouldn't be any different. He frowned at his screensaver, an animated version of himself beating up Primal and pushed himself away from the desk. He looked at the place where the disk had been one last time then transformed into beast mode. He made his way out of the base and ran across the plains, bent on finding the three things he lost.

* * *

Yume watched her reflection waver then slowly return to its true form, only instead of the reflection being her it became Dinobot, or at least him looming over her. She gasped and leaned back, suddenly aware of metal limbs supporting her back. She looked up and saw him frowning down at her. She gasped to herself. She hadn't even heard him come up on her!

"I...I...," she stammered. "S...s...sorry. I didn't know you wanted to-"

He growled silencing her. Yes, she was still annoying and he was getting sick of her constant stammering. He wished she'd just get over it. Instead of scolding her he looked into the shallow water, disregarding his reflection, he knew what he looked like. He thought he'd caught something out of place in the reflection of the opposite shore in the water and stared intently at the stream. Nothing. He was probably seeing things.

Yume had not noticed whatever he thought he'd seen and coward under him, wishing he'd move away from her already so she wouldn't have to worry about him chomping off her head or falling on her. Finally Dinobot moved and headed away from her and back to the tree, looking a little distracted. She sighed in relief and closed her eyes. Her mind started to wonder...

_Sparks surrounded her as she stood overlooking a metal metropolis. In the sky a giant blue machine of some sort floated above the quiet city, a stark contrast to the blood red sky. She was shocked at the quite of such a large product of civilization and it's lack of people going to and fro... Where was everybody? Where had they all gone? Suddenly a spark that looked different than the others floated in front of her face. She stared at it, feeling as if she knew it... It seemed to call out to her... _

Yume was startled out of her daydream as she felt a large metal hand reach out and grab her from behind. She screamed and tried to get away until she realized that it had been Dinobot who had grabbed her. She looked at him, her eyes full of questions then saw a small crator in the spot where she'd been sitting. She stared at the spot, realizing if Dinobot hadn't of moved her she'd be dead.

"What-?" she began but Dinobot's growl shut her up.

She looked at his face and saw his attention was on something across the stream. She looked where his eyes were focused and saw a giant purple and yellow spider creature standing across the water on the opposite shore. Her eyes bugged out as she watched it change shape and go into robot mode. The spider robot laughed a crazy laugh, held up a gun, and shot at them.

Dinobot growled again and jumped out of the way, dumping Yume behind a large stump. "Stay there!" he ordered, before he pulled out his sword and ran at the spider, eye lazors firing away.

**BOOM!**

Yume heard the explosion and looked around the stump to see what had happened. Dinobot seemed to be okay but a huge crator in the ground told her another bomb had gone off. She was glad it hadn't gotten Dinobot. "Go Dinobot!" she screamed watching him shoot the spider in the chest with his eyes lazors.

Dinobot looked over his shoulder at her, clearly surprised by her sudden change in character and also annoyed. "Get behind that!" he ordered her when he saw her peaking at him.

She quickly ducked behind the stump again.

She heard insane laughter and then Dinobot's growl. She heard a machine gun go off, then another explosion, and then a loud pained shriek. The sound made her freeze for a second then she peeked around the rock and spotted Dinobot on the ground with what looked like a giant hole in his chest. She froze again for a second then got out from behind the rock and started for him. Before she got too far, a giant blue and white web flew into her, knocking her to the ground. She screamed in horror as the spider thing walked over to her, still laughing. It aimed a kick at Dinobot as it went by but, injured or not, he was able to avoid it. The raptor grabbed the spiders leg and knocked it off balance. The thing let out a yelp and fell to the ground.

Yume tried to get up but the web held her down. She watched helplessly as the spider righted itself, aimed its gun at Dinobot's face, and fired. She screamed in terror as the raptor's face seemed to explode then watched as he slowly fell back and his head hit the ground once again. She watched him, silently praying that he'd get back up. He didn't and she felt tears coming to her eyes. He was dead. it was her fault.

"No," she whispered as the spider came over to her. "No."

He leaned down and laughed in her face. She screamed in terror and then fainted.

Tarantulas stared at the girl, confused. He had never met anyone who had ever fainted at the sight of him before and he was slightly offended at the reaction. Her scream was annoying as well. All well. It wasn't important. He shrugged it off and drug her away, laughing to himself.

* * *

Ratrap and Airazor arrived in the area surrounding the Predacon base just as Terrorsaur and Inferno flew out of the base. The two Maximals watched the Preds fly away then looked at each other. "I wonder where they're going," Airazor said.

"Who cares," Ratrap said, starting down the slope toward the Predacon base. "We're not here for that. We have to look for the dreamgirl and chopper-face."

"Why do you call her dreamgirl?" the falcon girl asked.

"Because her name means "dream" that's why," he replied, pointing a claw into the air as he stood on his hind legs. "And it just seemed to fit."

"Hmm.." she flapped her wings and rose into the air. "Let's just go down there and check already." then she flew off.

"Hey wait for me, bird lady!" Rattrap called, chasing after her as fast as he could.

When they got close enough to the base they crept cautiously toward the entrance. Just as they were about to enter the hatch flew open and Megatron, in beast mode, came stalking out, his face full of determination.

The two watched him go then looked at eachother again. "What was that about?" Airazor asked.

Rattrap shrugged, he had no idea. The two quickly sneaked into the base before the hatch closed behind them.

* * *

Terrorsaur flew a few feet behind Inferno, watching the crazed fire ant laugh at something only he thought was funny, as he tried to think of a way to get away from the other Predacon without being noticed. Oh he could have tried to get away now but Inferno kept on glancing back at him and saying stuff about the Royaly and how much he wanted to _burn_ the traitor and the girl, besides if Terrorsaur had tried to get away from him the fire ant would have demanded to know where he was going and he didn't feel like answering stupid questions. The flying dinosaur didn't care if Inferno torched Dinobot but he didn't want the crazy ant killing the girl in the process, nor did he want him to melt the Golden Disk.

_That Megatron, _he thought. _Why couldn't he have gone after the Disk himself? _Of course he already knew the answer but then again Megatron might come after it himself if he got angry enough.

Terrorsaur frowned. He just remembered something. When he'd left he had not seen Tarantulas in or around the base. That could only mean one thing. He'd also gone after them. The flying Dinosaur growled. _That spider won't get her before I do! _he vowed.

* * *

_She was running from something. Something with a loud voice. It bellowed behind her and she covered her ears to block the sound. The ground below her reflected her fleeing figure as it it were a mirror. She glanced at her reflection only once, realizing she was running across the surface of the Golden Disk. Before her was a mountian. She ran toward it but something blew it up. When she looked again it was gone. Just then she realized she was no longer running across the disk but through a valley. A vallety ablaze with gold and black fire. She ran through it and spotted a figure on the ground. It was incased in shadow and seemed to be looking up at another figure. _

_Suddenly it got up and lunged at the other shadow, knocking something shiny out of its hands. The first shadow caught the object and raised it above itself releasing a bright green light that shattered the object. As the pieces fell the shadow fell with it. She froze in her tracks and stared. Something shiny came out of the shadow and began to float in the air. She watched it go, awed by the sight when suddenly the object froze and hesitated, slowly hovering back down to the shadow. She watched it hover a moment before it slowly went back into the shadow and was again hidden in darkness..._

Yume woke to laughing. She opened her eyes and, as they focused, took in what looked like a dark place reserved only for mad scientists. She blinked then stared wide eyed at everything, not exactly sure where she was or what soem of the strange objects before her eyes were used for. Her arm felt cramped but when she tried to move realized she couldn't. She looked at her stubborn limb and discovered she was stuck to a giant blue and white spider's web. She gasped and tried to get free. The web held her and she realized it was hopeless to try.

Her fear came back almost instantly when she realized she was trapped. She tried to see past the gloom, hoping against hope that somewhere in it was Dinobot coming to get her out of this. There was no Dinobot and she felt there would never be one again as the memory of his demise came flooding back to her brain. She sniffled at the thought and felt tears running down her face. _It was all my fault..._

"Aww is the little human crying, tehehehehe.." a voice in the shadows asked.

Yume gasped and looked around herself again, trying to spot the owner of the voice. It sounded so close as if it were right beside her...She turned her head and found herself staring into four pairs of yellow eyes.

"Hello," the owner of the eyes said, chuckling to itself as it spoke.

Yume's answer was a scream that echoed through the caverns.

_A/N_

_I got my Dinobot toy! I am so happy! Now I just need to get the rest of them. I'm gonna collect the 10 anniversay additions and when I have them all I'm gonna put together Transmutate! Man I hate camp. I kept getting weird ideas about Dinobot's spark possessing Yume. (Don't ask) Maybe I should drown her... No that would be a bad idea. I think if I make a sequal I'll put the Vok in it. _

_NO DINOBOT' IS NOT DEAD!_


	11. Chapter 11

CHAPTER 11

Dinobot could only see darkness before him. He didn't know where he was so he figured he must have died. Thrown into the Pit never to return. That figured. He knew this was going to happen. Yet another thing to blame on that stupid human girl... he knew it all along. That girl would be the death of him, he'd only hoped it wouldn't have been so soon. He would have prefered killing her before she got him killed. It seemed that that wasn't the case. Just what he _didn't_ need. He started feeling a rising dislike for humans. If the girl had been there now she wouldn't have survived...

A kick in the face brought him back to reality. The light returned to his eyes and he found himself staring up at the annoyed face of Megatron. Dinobot stared at him, saying nothing. His own expression probably mirrored the Predacon's own by the way Megatron's frown grew deeper. He leaned down and got into the raptor's face, his voice that of controled rage. "Where is the girl?" he demanded, his voice strained. "And where is the Golden Disk?"

The raptor still refused to talk, suddenly aware of the sparking hole in his chest and the feeling of missing teeth. He remembered getting his face almost blown off by Tarantulas and snarled in growing anger. Infernal Spider!

Megatron must have thought Dinobot was snarling at him because he kicked the former Predacon in the face once more before he looked around himself, seemingly searching for something. Dinobot noticed that both the girl and her backpack, which contained the Golden Disk, were both missing. _The spider must have take them both_, he figured.

Finally Megatron, after not finding what he was looking for, looked back at him and grabbed him by the throat, with his more human-like hand. His lifted the damaged raptor off the ground and aimed his T-Rex head at Dinobot's dented face. "Where is the girl and the disk?" he demanded.

Dinobot glared at him. "I am the wrong person you should be asking those questions," he snarled. "Why don't you ask that spider?!"

Megatorn knew who he was talking about. "Tarantulas," he growled. "That trecherous spider! He will pay for this!" He let Dinobot go and the damaged raptor fell to the ground. Dinobot reverted back to beast mode because of Energon build up but could do little more even in that form. He watched the Predacon leader speak into his intercom. "Terrorsaur, Inferno," he said.

Inferno's voice spoke back to him. "Yes, Royalty?"

"We have a little situation, yess," he told the fire ant. "It seems our friend Tarantuals has decided to take matters into his own claws. I want you and Terrorsaur to find that traitous spider and find out what he's up to."

"Yes, my queen," the ant said.

When the two broke contact Megatron looked back at Dinobot who hadn't moved since he'd returned to beast mode. "Now I only have to deal with you..."

* * *

Rattrap and Airazor quietly sneaked through the Predacon base, avoiding rooms with security systems. Three of the Predacons were still in the base and it wouldn't do any good for them to be seen. So far they hadn't found either Yume or Dinobot. Airazor began to think they might not have ever been there and they had blamed the Preds for no reason at all.

She was about to voice this when Rattrap found something that dashed that train of thought out of her mind completely.

"What's this?" Ratrap said, holding something up.

Airazor leaned in close to get a better look. The object he held was an orange color with the words "Number 2" and "Subject 1" written on it. Airazor remembered Yume holding the strange object the other night when she'd been working on the picture of the falcon girl. "That's Yume's," she said taking it and holding it up to the light. "She uses it to draw things with..."

"So she _was_ here," Rattrap said.

"Seems like it," she agreed. "And if she is here so is Dinobot."

Ratrap didn't argue, he knew she was right. If Yume wound up getting caught it wasn't likely that the Preds would have left Dinobot behind to tell them what had happened. He and Airazor looked at each other.

"What are we going to do?" the falcon asked.

Rattrap had no idea.

* * *

"ARGH!" Tarantulas fell off the web at the sound of Yume's piercing scream, he'd totally forgotten about that siren wail of hers. He landed on his face on the ground and quickly stood up, rubbing his eight eyes.

Yume was still screaming. He started to wonder how she could scream so long.

He went into robot mode and she screamed all the more. The sound was even more annoying in robot mode. "Shut up, witch!" he shouted, grabbing her face in his claw.

She stopped screaming and stared at him, a whimper coming from her throat. It almost sounded like, "Don't eat me. Please don't eat me!"

Tarantulas chuckled to himself at the thought and let her go. She didn't scream this time, she only stared at him, her face a mask of fear. For a moment the two just stared at each other, both studying the other closely.

"What do you want from me?" she finally asked after a minute.

"Oh nothing too important, my dear," Tarantulas said to her. "I just need you for a little experiment I'm working on."

A new fear clutched her heart. "E-experiment?" she asked. "What kind of experiment?"

"Oh, you'll see, tehehehee," the spider cackled to himself.

* * *

"Why don't you guys ever tell me anything anymore?" Scorponok demanded of Blackarachnia and Waspinator. "Did it ever cross your minds that I would like to know about things you encounter as well? That _I_ would like to know what's going on around here more often?"

"Hey, don't blame me!" the black widow shot back. "_I_ only found out because Megatron needed someone to keep Inferno in check!"

"But he _still_ told you!" the scorpion countered. "He doesn't even_ trust _you! Why didn't he sent me to do that instead of you?"

"Why does it matter?" the she-spider wanted to know, putting her claws on her hips. "You don't like Inferno anyway."

"That is beside the_ point_!" the scorpion exploded. "I'm _second in command_! He should be _telling me _these things!"

"Why? So you can mess things up like you did with that virus you gave Optimus?" she asked.

"Don't ever mention that again!" he shouted.

"Fine, but what would you have done with the information anyway?" Blackarachnia wanted to know.

"I could have gotten the human for him a simpler way," was the reply she got.

"How? By walking up to her and talking to her? Incase you didn't know, that girl is afraid of us, especially us arachnids," she pointed out. "Talking to her wouldn't work."

"I wouldn't have_ talked _to her," he said.

"Then what _would_ you have done? Blasted her?" the spider demanded. "Megatron wanted her alive."

"I know that!"

"It doesn't seem you do."

Scorponok glared at her then turned away, heading out of the conference room and into the hall, muttering to himself. "I've been loyal to Megatron from the beginning. Why doesn't he tell me anything? He used to. I bet I know why he doesn't; it's all that no good Inferno's fault! Always sucking up to him and-"

The rest of his sentence was cut off when he ran into a body. He fell on the floor on his rear and looked up to find Airazor staring down at him. He stared back for a moment then shouted. "Maximals!"

Before the falcon could react, or shut him up with a missle, he was on his feet, screaming at the top of his lungs. "Invaders! Maximals have invaded the base!"

Waspinator and Blackarachnia immediately came to the door. They spotted the bird girl too and started shooting. She went into beast mode and flew over them and down the hall. The Predacons ran after her, guns firing away.

Rattrap watched the whole thing from a grate in the ceiling. While Airazor kept the Preds busy the rat would search the rest of the base for Dinobot and the human girl. _I just hope the bird-lady doesn't wind up being their next victom..._

* * *

Megatron was grumbling to himself about having to drag Dinobot's trairtous hide back to the Predacon base by himself. Oh, he would have summoned someone else to do the job but Dinobot had attacked him, beast mode or not, damaged or not, and broke the comlink. Megs had always figured Dinobot's beast mode to be a weak choice because of its size and noticeable handicaps but that all vanished when the velociraptor had chomped down aggresively on his T-Rex head arm. He'd had to use a rock to knock his former second in command senseless.

"I can't _believe _this, no!" he grumbled to himself, dragging Dinobot by the tail. "First I lost the disk and that girl, then Tarantulas takes the disk and the girl, and _now _the traitor goes berserk on me and rips out my comlink so I not only have no way of communicating with anyone but I have to drag his great bulk back to the base.." he shook his head. "This is benieth me, yessss..."

A lurch from behind brought him to a stop. He looked over his shoulder and saw Dinobot picking himself up, one hand on his now lumpy head and the other pushing himself off the ground. The raptor had awakened a lot faster than he'd expected and he dropped the traitor's tail in surprise. "How'd you do that?" he demanded.

"That is none of your concern," Dinobot growled. He looked like he was about to go into robot mode and attack the Predacon leader the right way.

Megatronn lifted his chomped on T-Rex head but, before he could fire it, Dinobot surprised him. The raptor turned and ran! Megs stared after his fleeing figure a moment, not sure that what he was seeing wasn't his imagination. After a few seconds he got over it.

"Hey, get back here!" he shouted, chasing after the raptor.

Dinobot kept running but he looked back at his former boss and snarled. Like the Pit he'd go back! He ran up a small hill and hid behind a rock. Megatron slowed down and started walking toward the rock, the lazers in his T-Rex head arm slowly charging up. Maybe he wouldn't have to drag Dinobot back to the base to deal with him properly. Maybe he could just blow the traitor up here and be done with it then he'd be rid of one problem and could immediately start on the next. Finding the disk and the human girl.

A rumbling sound brought him out of his thoughts. He looked toward the rock where the raptor had hidden. The rock was now rolling down the hill toward him. "Oh no...," he said staring at it a moment then running away. Too bad for him he wasn't fast enough. The rock met him and smashed him to the ground. When it rolled off of him a flattened Megatron mumbled into the dirt. "I should have been expecting that, yes..."

Dinobot watched him from the top of the hill. When the Predacon didn't move he stood there a moment deciding whether to deal with his former boss properly or just leave. A quick system scan told him he was still too damaged to transform and he, snorting his displeasure, turned from Megatron and chose to get back to the task he'd been given. Protecting that stupid female human. But first; he had to find her and, whether Tarantulas knew it or not, Dinobot knew where his lair was.

The raptor ran swiftly over the rocky ground. _That human is more trouble than she is worth..._

* * *

Yume watched Tarantulas type something on his lair computer. Though she couldn't read Cybertronian the diagram that pixelated itself on the screen made her heart pound. It looked like a giant hypadermic needle! Yume hated needles and had once screamed bloody murder when she'd had to get a tetinus shot after she'd gotten a rusty nail up her foot. She didn't even want to think of what that_ thing _would be used for.

_Oh God, _she thought, whimpers escaping her throat. _What's he going to do to me? Why does he want me? Why do all these people want me so bad? Why can't they just leave me alone? Oh, I hope he doesn't kill me... I wish Dinobot was here... _Funny how her thoughts seemed to return to the raptor when she was in trouble. She feared him, yet, he was the first person that came to mind when bad things happened. It made no sense. Why would she even want him to be near her anyway? _Because he bothers to care... _the thought crossed her mind as she closed her eyes.

Tarantulas wasn't going to kill her. Oh he would have loved to suck out her blood and savor it but then her usefulness would be gone and what would the point of that be anyway? No, eating her was out of the question, though, with her constant screaming banshee wail, the thought was getting very tempting. But first, he'd run a few tests on her...

He turned from his computer screen and looked back at her. She was still stuck to his web but her eyes were closed and she looked like she was crying. "Aww what's wrong?" he asked.

She opened her eyes and looked at him, soft tears streaming down her pale cheeks. Her grey eyes met his yellow ones and held them for a moment. She said nothing, she didn't want to talk to him. He didn't really care. He didn't need another female getting under his outter plating, not that she already didn't. "You shouldn't be so sad," he finally said. "It's not like you're not doing this for a worthy cause."

"And what cause would that be?" she asked, her voice fearful.

He chuckled to himself. It was best she didn't know. He turned from her again and continued typing. Yume retreated back to her thoughts. _That spider's crazy. Why does he want to experiment on me anyway? Why doesn't he just eat me and get it over with? _that thought surprised her. Why would she want him to do that? She didn't want to die, but she didn't want to be dissected either. She returned to wishing Dinobot would come rescue her. _I never thought I'd think that way... _

* * *

Dinobot found Tarantulas lair about an hour after he'd flattened Megatron. The spider hadn't moved it from when the raptor and Rattrap had infiltrated it so it was easy to find. By then the raptor's computer told him his damaged parts were much better and he was able to return to robot mode. Even so; he still couldn't contact the others so that left him to deal with the mad spider by himself.

As he entered the cave he began asking himself why he was even bothering to do this. He could just let the spider have the girl but he knew Optimus would be mad at him if he didn't get her back, not that the raptor cared what the Maximal leader thought anyway. He started telling himself he was only doing this to get the Golden Disk back, not to save the girl who he would rescue anyway. As he got closer to the lab area of the base he began hearing the spider's signature laughter and pulled out his sword. He wasn't going to let that lunatic get the best of him this time.

A few minutes later he caught sight of the spider and the girl. Yume was stuck to a blue and white spider's web. Dinobot spotted her backpack on the scientist's examining table, opened with the disk sitting on the table next to it. Tarantulas had his back to the rest of his lair, his total attention on the human girl. Dinobot quietly crept closer.

* * *

Tarantulas was about to inject something into Yume when he thought he heard something behind him. He quickly spun around and let his optics scan the vicinity of his lair. He _saw_ nothing but he _felt _something. He decided to make sure it had only been his imagination and stepped away from the girl, pulling out his gun and looking around.

"Come out, intruder!" he called to whoever might be there.

Silence met him.

He took a few more steps. A movement out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. He turned his head. Two green lights shot toward him and hit him in the chest. He was knocked to the ground. A figure stepped out of the shadows. Dinobot. "How did you-" he began, surprised to see the raptor.

"Oh, I'm much harder to kill than _that_, spider," the raptor snorted at him, then stepped over the spider.

"Dinobot!" Yume exclaimed, when she saw the raptor. For once she was happy to see him and was glad he was alive.

He looked up at her and used his sword to cut the web holding her. It slipped off of her and.. she ran up to him and hugged his legs. "I'm so glad you came!" she sobbed into his metal plating.

The raptor froze in shock. What was she doing?! He stared down at her. How should he react to_ this_?

Yume realized what she was doing just then and let him go, taking a few steps back, her eyes filling with fear. "Oh!" she exclaimed then bowed about seven times. "I-I'm sorry!"

He sighed. She still kept doing that. He turned his attention from her and stared at the disk on the table. He reached for it but Yume screamed and he looked back at her. "What is it now?" he demanded.

"Behind you!" she exclaimed, pointing.

He looked behind himself and saw Tarantulas standing with his weapon aimed. The spider fired and the raptor moved to avoid it. Not about to let history repeat itself he ran at the spider, his eye lazors firing and impaled the spider before he could fire again. Tarantulas gasped then fell over, a huge sparking hole in his chestplate.

Yuem stared at Tarantulas as Dinobot returned to her and shoved the golden disk back into her pack. With his other hand he grabbed her arm and yanked her toward him. She cried out but he didn't loosen his grip. He dashed toward the lair's entrance, dragging her along with him. The human girl tried to get her feet under her but he was going too fast and she was afraid to say anything. One look at his face told her that he was in a very bad mood. His red eyes stared ahead but his teeth, those long razor sharp fangs, were bared and he kept on snarling.

Yume decided she wouldn't say anything.

_A/N_

_Oh man I feel so sick! I have the flu or something and it's really killing my mind! I totally lost all my inspiration and I hate it. Why does this always happen to me when I get to the good parts? I hate camp! This time it totally killed it. I ran out of ideas... I hate the fact that I'm turning 20. I think age has something to do with it too..._

_Hmm imagine Yume meeting Rampage. He'd scare the pants off her... and enjoy it... oh boy...I wonder if I'll get that far..._

_Hehehe. I started a funny Beast Wars fanfic called 'The Beast Wars INSANE Talkshow" hehe. It would be nice if you'd check it out for me... I interviewed Megatron. _


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Dinobot needed to vent, badly. He was so ticked off that he could have vented as he ran, but he needed those breaths to run so he couldn't. He vowed to vent as soon as he was able to talk without using the air for anything else.

He'd gotten Yume as far away from Tarantulas lair as he could before his damage started getting to him then stopped. Yume hadn't said a word since he'd rescued her. His grip on her arm had tightened enough to bruise her skin but she still didn't speak, not even to whimper in pain. He finally did let go of her and turned to glare at her. She stared up at him with those huge gray eyes but didn't say anything.

Her silence made him angrier for some reason. Which made him want to vent even more.

"Why am I even bothering with you?" he finally growled, his red eyes flashing in anger. "You are not worth all the trouble I go through just keeping you safe!"

"I'm sorry," she said, the first words she'd spoken since they'd left the spider's lair.

"Stop that!" he shouted, startling her. "Stop apologizing! I am getting sick of your constant apologizing!"

She opened her mouth to apologize again but he cut her off.

"Do not say it! I do not want to hear it again." he folded his arms. "Optimus was right when he said taking care of you was an important job but I cannot stand it! You are more trouble than you are worth and the fact that you are totally helpless does not help!"

"I can't help it!" she said to him, playing with her hair tie. "I'm not a big, strong robot. I can't defend myself."

"Try!" he shouted right into her face, his voice blaring loudly in her ears. "For the love of Primus try!"

"How!?"

Dinobot stopped himself. How was she going to do that? She wasn't a transformer. She had no weapon and even if he gave her one it would do her no good. She wouldn't be able to use it. "Dah! Why am I even bothering?!" he asked himself, turning away from her. "I have half a mind to just let you stay caught the next time this happens."

"Then why don't you?" she asked.

He didn't answer. He would have if it had sounded sarcastic but her voice hadn't. It really wanted to know why he didn't. She wanted to know why he didn't. Thing was; he couldn't answer. He would have if he'd had an answer but he didn't. He didn't have an answer that she would be able to understand anyway. He didn't know why. He told himself it was only because he'd been ordered to keep her safe, not that he was doing a good job at it. He didn't care about her, or so he told himself.

He shook his head. "I cannot answer that," he finally admited, looking back at her.

Yume said nothing. She wasn't sure she believed him. He didn't move and neither did she. They just stared at each other.

"What do you want from me?" he demanded after a moment.

"Nothing," she said.

He had a feeling she _did_ want something from him but was afraid to say anything. Well, he wasn't going to ask her about it. She'd tell him when she decided to. The thought that she might never tell him didn't bother him in the least. He didn't really care if she told him or not.

All well. He reverted back to beast mode and looked at her as if waiting for her to react. She met his eyes and reached down to pick up her backpack, which he'd dropped. She slung the strap over her shoulder and started walking, her eyes straight ahead, totally ignoring him.

* * *

Inferno and Terrorsaur arrived at Taranutlas base sometime after Dinobot and Yume had abandoned it. When they found the spider's laboritory they discovered him on the ground with a huge sparking hole in his chest. He was making strange gaspy sounds similar to a dying vacumm cleaner.

Terrorsaur didn't care and grabbed the spider by the throat. "Where's the Golden Disk and the girl?" he demanded.

The spider gasped again then went into beast mode, so he could speak and breathe again. "Dinobot took them," he replied, feeling much better now and climbing up the wall. "Now leave, I have important things to do."

Terrorsaur and Inferno looked at each other. The fire ant lifted his flame thrower and shot the spider off the wall. "Wahhh!" he fell onto the ground and as he righted himself demanded, "What was that for?"

"Why did you have the girl?" Inferno demanded. "Why didn't you bring her back to the colony?"

Tarantulas didn't reply. What could he say? He wasn't even going to explain himself to Inferno or Megatron. It wasn't any of _their_ business anyway.

"Answer or burn!" the fire ant shouted at the spider.

"I'd rather not do either," the spider replied, then quickly climbed up the wall and into a hole in the roof.

"Get back here, Spider!" the fire ant shouted, angrily. He shot at the roof out of anger , sending debrees raining down on him and Terrorsaur.

"No! Stop it!" the flying dinosaur shouted, waving his hands. "You're going to burry us! Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!" the roof caved in on him and the insane fire ant.

* * *

Optimus and Rhinox returned to the base after searching the immediate area. They had found no trace of Yume or Dinobot and figured they'd head back and try to get a scan on the raptor's location from there. To their disappointment they discovered that the raptor was either too far out of range or was in the jamming zone. Since there was nothing they could do until they got an update from the others they decided to try to get the time travel device that had sent Yume to their time activated again.

Rhinxo brought up the thing's frame up on the consel and stared at it a moment. Nothing seemed to have changed since the last time he'd looked at it. The power level was about the same as well and didn't seem to be rising. "Hmmm," he mused, rubbing his chin. "This could be a problem..."

"What is it, Rhinox?" Primal asked, looking over the rhino's shoulder.

"That item that brought the girl here doesn't seem to be working anymore," Rhinox replied, tapping on the computer keys. "If it doesn't recharge that girl won't be able to go back to her time."

"Hm..." Optimus moved away from the monitor. "Well work on it a little more. I'll try to contact Rattrap and Airazor. Maybe they found out where Dinobot and the girl are... and if they are at the Predacon base or not."

"Go ahead," Rhinox agreed. 'This might take awhile."

"Optimus to Airazor and Rattrap," he said speaking into his comlink. "Do you read me?" static. "Airazor? Rattrap, Respond." more static. "Slag."

"What's wrong?" Rhinox asked, looking over at his boss.

"I can't get in contact with them either," Primal replied.

"Try Cheetor and Tigatron," Rhinox suggested.

"Good idea," Optimus agreed, returning to his comlink. "Optimus to Cheetor and Tigatron. Can you read me?"

A scratchy voice answered back. "Coming in a bit fuzzy, Big Bot, but we can hear you."

"Have you found anything yet?"

"No," the cheetah answered. "We've been looking all over the place but haven't found a thing. I'm starting to get the feeling that they might have just disappeared."

"Nobody can just _disappear_, Cheetor," Optimus told the younger bot. "They have to be there somewhere. Keep searching."

"Sure thing, Big Bot."

"I think I'll go look for them again," Optimus said after he cut the link with Cheetor and turned back to Rhinox. "You stay here and see if they try to get ahold of us."

Rhinox nodded. "Okay," he agreed. He opened the roof so Optimus could fly out.

"Prime jets, on!" the Maximal leader exclaimed. The rockets activated and he flew into the sky and away from the base. _Where are you two?_

* * *

Dinobot and Yume wound up in the forest again. It wasn't because they were lost, it was just because Megatron and the other Predacons wouldn't be able to find them so easily in the jungle. It was also starting to get dark so Yume was walking very close to Dinobot. She would have been riding him but was too afraid to ask and he wasn't about to offer it. She could walk by herself. He didn't need to carry her. Neither had spoken since Dinobot had blown up at her. The silence had been a welcome change at first but Dinobot began to get the feeling that the girl was being spiteful. She was mad at him, that had to be it. But if she was mad at him the least she could do was tell him how she felt instead of holding it in and driving him crazy.

He glanced over at her. In the waning light it looked like she was glaring at him.

"What are you staring at?" he demanded.

She blinked, confused. "What?" she asked.

"Why are you staring at me like that?" he growled.

She still had no idea what he was talking about. "Like what?" she asked.

"You are glaring at me!" he replied. "If you have something to say just say it already!"

"I don't know what you're talking about!" she exclaimed, stepping away from him. "and I wasn't glaring at you!"

"Then what _were_ you doing?"

"I was thinking."

"About what?"  
She folded her arms and looked away. "What does it matter?" she asked. "You wouldn't care anyway."

"Why _should_ I care?" he asked.

"I never said you _should_," she told him. "It's not that important anyway." she sighed and looked into the sky. She stared at the two moons that she could see through the canopy of leaves. _This isn't Earth... _she looked back at him. She saw he had also been looking at the moons. He was looking at them the same way he'd been looking at the disk in the Predacon base. _What's he thinking about? What does he think about?_

The raptor turned his attention away from the moons and noticed her staring at him. "What?" he asked.

"Nothing," she replied, then plopped down on the ground.

"What the hell are you doing?" he demanded as she put her backpack on her lap and opened it.

She looked up at him with something in her mouth. "Hmm?" she said.

"What are you doing sitting there?" he demanded.

"I'm tired," she replied, taking the object out of her mouth. "My feet hurt. I need to rest."

"We do not have _time_ to rest!" he shouted in her face. "If we rest Megatron and the other Predacons will find us and you know what will happen then."

She knew all too well and didn't need to be reminded. "I can't help it," she told him. "We've been walking in this forest for _hours_. I'm not a robot like you. I can't go on and on without stopping."

The raptor opened his mouth to retort but held it back. She was right. She wasn't a robot and she couldn't go on forever like one. She was just a human and humans had their limits. He asked himself how he could have forgotten that fact. _Because you've never encountered one before, _a voice in his head told him. _You don't know that much about humans besides their role in the Great War. You didn't bother asking either. Don't assume things you don't know a thing about. _He growled in anger, knowing full well the voice was right.

But he still didn't think it was a good idea to rest. He wasn't sure how long it would be before the Predacons went after them again and he really didn't want to be caught unawares when they did. Still... she had to rest. She couldn't keep walking. That only left him with one choice.

"Get on my back," he said.

Her face filled with surprise. "What?" she asked, not sure she had heard him right.

"Do you not have ears, girl?" he demanded. "I am offering you a ride! Now take it before I change my mind!"

His tone was enough to get her moving. She quickly scrambled to her feet, slung her backpack over her shoulder and climbed on. He didn't even seem to notice her weight as she climbed onto his back and wrapped her arms around his neck. When he was sure she wouldn't fall off he started walking once more.

* * *

Airazor had lost all three Predacons awhile back. They'd chased her around the base, trying to bring her down with their guns, but when they couldn't catch her they seemed to grow bored and left her alone. Well either that or they had decided to think of a new way to bring her down. She figured they'd probably chosen the latter.

_If they think I'll be that easy to bring down they got another thing coming, _she thought to herself.

She stopped in mid-flight and slowly landed. She listened carefully and when she heard a strange scraping noise close by she changed into beast mode and quietly walked toward it. _They're not going to get me that easily..._

Suddenly someone came around the corner and got right into her face. Waspinator. They stared at each other a moment then the wasp robot panicked and flew the opposite direction. She watched him go then flew after him.

* * *

"Well that was a fine mess you got us into, ant brain!" Terrorsaur ranted as he and the fire ant picked their way out of Tarantulas lair. It had taken them five hours to get out of the rubble pile Inferno had buried them under and the flying dinosaur was in a very bad mood. "You didn't have to shoot the ceiling, you know! That wasn't going to bring him back to us, moron!"

Inferno wasn't in a very good mood either. "How was _I _suppost to know the ceiling would fall in on us?" he demanded, poking Terrorsaur in the face. "And besides; What would _you _have done?"

Terrorsaur shoved Inferno's poking finger away before replying, he hated when Inferno did that. "_I_ wouldn't have shot at the_ ceiling_!" he told the fire ant. "I wouldn't have bothered asking him the question!" he folded his arms and glared at the ant. "Tarantulas doesn't cooperate that easily. We probably won't ever find out why he wanted her now but he said Dinobot had gotten to him first and took the Disk and the girl with him. If we want them back we have to go after him,."

"But the Royalty-" Inferno began.

"Shut you mouth before I blow it off!" Terrorsaur shouted, cutting the fire ant off. "We're not going to find that spider tonight so let's just look for them already!"

Inferno cocked his head at the dinosaur in mock worry. "Are you all right?" he asked, his voice slightly sarcastic.

"NO! I'M _NOT_ ALL RIGHT!" Terrorsaur shouted at him, gestering wildly with his arms. "DO I _LOOK_ LIKE I'M ALL RIGHT!? JUST SHUT UP AND GET MOVING!"

"_You _don't order me around, pterasaur!" Infenro growled, starting to lose his own short temper. "Only the _Royalty _commands me!"

"The _Royality_ isn't here!" Terrorsaur told the stupid ant.

"That makes no difference," Infenro told him. "The Royalty wanted us to find out what the spider was up to."

"He _also_ wanted us to find the Disk, Dinobot, and the girl," the flying dinosaur reminded him. "And since we can't do one thing I suggest we get started on the other."

"I will _not_ disobey the Royalty's orders!" Inferno told the dinosaur.

"Fine then," Terrosaur said, turning to go. "_You_ find the pider and _I'll_ find Dinobot and the girl."

"No," Inferno said, grabbing Terrorsaur's arm. "_You_ will not disobey the Royalty either."

"HE'S NOT _**MY**_ ROYALTY!" Terrorsaur exploded. "Now let me go so I can find the traitor, that stupid golden CD, and the wench!"

"Don't disrespect the Queen!" Inferno shouted just as angry.

Terrorsaur's fist came from somewhere Inferno wasn't expecting. The fire ant took in under the chin and flew backward a few feet. He smacked into a column and got up, incensed. "YOU WILL _PAY_ FOR THAT!" he screamed, firing his gun at the flying dinosaur.

* * *

Megatron came to awhile later, feeling like he'd been run over by a squade of race cars. He slowly got to his feet and tried to contact Inferno and Terrorsaur. "Megatron to Inferno and Terrorsaur," he said. "Do you read me?"

He was greeted by the sound of gunfire and screaming. But not screaming in the battle sense. Screaming in the I-am-very-ticked-off-at-something sense. He heard. "I will not apologize!" over one frequency and "You will say you're sorry or _burn!" _on the other. The Predacon leader sighed and shook his head. He should have figured it would be a bad idea to leave those two by themselves.

He tried to get in contact with the Predacons in the base but he heard screaming and gun fire there too. "What's going on here?" he demanded, angrily going into beast mode and stomping toward the base. "I'm going to find out one way or another, yesssss."

* * *

"I am a warrior..."

_A voice... what was that? _

"... Let the battle be joined..."

_That voice. I've heard it before..._

Suddenly chaos flashed before her eyes. A burning valley, a spark flying into the heavens, a storm, a statis pod, a white transmetal raptor attacking what looked like a manta ray robot, and explosions. Millions of explosions. Then... silence... and the spark. The spark from before flying through oblivion.

_What is it? Why is it so familiar? Do I know it? Does it know me? _

The spark stopped right before her eyes and hovered there. A voice whispered from it then it changed shape. It became a blurred image in front of her. A blurred image that refused to come into focus... She reached out to touch it... and it exploded taking everything out with it, even her.

* * *

Yume woke with a gasp. She hadn't even been aware she'd fallen asleep until she'd had that dream and woken up. She looked around herself but the scenery hadn't changed. She was still in the forest. The only difference was that they were no longer moving. Dinobot had stopped walking and seemed to be sniffing the air. He felt her move and looked back at her, his breath blowing her bangs out of her eyes as he asked, his voice only mildly concerned. "What is wrong?"

"Nothing," she replied, forcing herself to sit up straight. She looked around. "Why did we stop?"

"I thought I sensed something," he replied, looking away from her and back toward the dark forest. "I was running a scan of the area."

"Oh," she didn't know what else to say. She looked up at the sky. The tree covering was thinner here and she could see the two moons and the stars. She thought she saw some constillations she recognized...

Dinobot moved again, almost knocking her off him to the ground. She quickly regained her balance and re-wrapped her arms around his neck. He made a gulping sound and loosened her grip, realizing she was choking him. For some reason she asked. "Do you ever have dreams?"

He stopped moving again and looked back at her, his face giving her the impression that he didn't like the question. "Why do you ask?" he wanted to know.

"I don't know," she replied, and she honestly didn't. "I was just wondering."

Silence. The raptor looked away from her and listened intently. She thought she heard a voice say something but couldn't be sure. He suddenly seemed to relax all of a sudden and looked back at her. "You can get off now," he said.

"Why?" she asked, relunctant to move lest he walk away and leave her there.

"Because we shall be spending the night here," he replied.

"But what about the Predacons?" she asked, still refusing to move.

"They aren't anywhere near here," he replied.

"How do you know?" she questioned.

"I just do."

She wasn't sure that was a good enough answer but didn't ask again. She slowly slid off his back and onto the ground. She watched him lay down but continue to stare at her. She felt that fear rising again and scurried a short distance away, not wanting to get too close.

"Get back here!" he ordered, his voice angry.

She froze, a whimper escaping her throat. _What now? What's he going to do? _She looked back at him.

He hadn't moved. He was just gesturing her forward with his claw. That bit of body language reminded her of her father when he was about to scold her when she did something wrong. _What did I do wrong? I'm sorry father! I won't do it again!_

"Get back here and lay down," he ordered.

She still didn't move.

"Well?" he snarled.

She let out a tiny scream and ran back to him, tripping and landing face flat on the ground in front of him. She scrambled onto her hands and knees and stared at him. He glared back. "W-why do you want me so close?" she asked.

"So I can keep an eye on you," he replied, as if the answer was obvious.

She didn't like that answer. For her it could have an ominous ring to it. Like he wanted to watch his supper but she knew by then that he wasn't going to eat her. He just wanted to make sure nothing happened to her. She lay back down and turned her back to him. As she closed her eyes she could still fell his cold stare on her back and shivered.

_A/N_

_The rest of the Predacons are rather busy at the moment. lol. You'll find the answer to Yume's weird dreams later so don't ask. _

_Question; If I do make a sequal should I make it that she went home and returned to their time or should I make it that she didn't go home and stayed in their time? I really want her to meet Depth Charge (One of my most favorite characters next to Dinobot) too but I don't want Dinobot to die... By the way; I drew some pictures of Yume. They're on my Deviantart page if ya wanna find out what she actually looks like. _


	13. Chapter 13

CHAPTER 13

Inferno came out the winner in Terrorsaur and his all out brawl. While the fire ant got minimun damage, aside from a dented chin, and a broken propeller, Terrorsaur wound up with too many dents to count, one of his wings was almost falling off as he got up from the ground. He had to go into beast mode to start the repairs that would have been fixed easily in the CR bath. But Inferno, being the victor, wouldn't let him go back until they found Tarantulas. Terrorsaur hated the idea but, being the loser, had to go along. He followed the fire ant the rest of the way out of the lair, cursing Megatron, fire ants, humans, and golden disks as he went.

_When this is over I'm going to blow Megatron's head off!_

"Now," the fire ant said, checking the power on his flame thrower. "Let's go find that spider."

Terrorsaur waited until Inferno's back was turned then stuck his tongue out at him. _Just you wait, ant brain, I'll have my revenge!_

* * *

Dead eyes stared up at her from a mangled face. She froze and collapsed to the ground beside the damaged and broken form of the warrior. She was too late. He'd gone out to deal with something and she was too late to stop him. She'd known what it was and hadn't even attempted to stop him. He'd called it "Reconciliation" and she had just let him go. "No," she said now, touching the face, as tears of guilt filled her eyes. She could have stopped him and now... "It can't be true! This can't be _happening_!" 

Laughter filled the air and she jumped to her feet, turning to face the sound. A shadow with glowing eyes stood a few feet away. It was the source of the laughter.

"Stop," she said to it. Right now, laughter was the last thing she wanted to hear. "Stop laughing. This isn't funny."

"But it is, yes..." the voice said back. "The one thing he cared the least for was his end."

"What do you mean?" she asked, not understanding.

"You," it replied, pointing at her. "You are what killed him!"

* * *

Yume woke to find herself half laying on the ground and half sitting up. She did not remember falling asleep in that postion. She wondered how she'd ended up that way. She turned her head slightly and realized she was leaning against Dinobot's side. He was curled up around her body, like her cat Ichigo, sleeping soundly. Her heart started pounding and she held in a scream. _Oh my god! _she thought, her old fears returning. _How did I end up like this? Why am I lying against him? What happened? Did I move in my sleep? Did he move me? What am I going to do? Oh my god!_

Dinobot must have sensed that she'd awakened or had just sensed her fear and opened his eyes, turning his head to look at her. She still wasn't used to him putting his face so close to hers and gasped, moving her face away from his but not getting far because his body was still curled around her and blocked any way of escaping. She stopped moving and made that annoying whimpering sound.

The noise irritated him, especially this early. "What now?" he asked her, hoping his question would make her stop.

"You-I-how?" she stammered, her answer a scrambled mess of syllables.

"What?" he asked, testily. He didn't seem to notice what was bothering her so much.

"Why is your body wrapped around me?" she asked, hoping he had the answer. "How did I end up like this?"

He took a moment to let the image sink in. Her head and upper body was leaning against his side, her legs were curled up beside her, and his tail was suspiciously close to her. It almost looked like some kind of strange cage but he didn't see anything that would upset her. It wasn't like he was impaling her with anything. "How should_ I _know?" he told her. "Maybe you moved."

"Or you moved me," she said before she could stop herself. Her voice had sounded suspicious.

He growled at her. "Why would I want to do_ that_, wench?" he demanded.

"I-I don't know," she said.

He shook his head. This girl was ridiculous! He had absolutely no reason to move her. Yes, she had fallen asleep a short distance away from him but if she had moved, and her leaning against him was proof that she had, she's either done it in her sleep or had woken up and done it but couldn't remember. He did not appreciate being blamed for it but nothing he said would change her mind about it. In her mind she thought he had moved her and if she thought that, that was the case, period.

The girl didn't stay leaning against him for very long. She quickly scrambled to her feet and rubbed her arms as if she was cold. He got up and studied her, watching as she noticed him staring and turned her back on him. She moved away and found her backpack, which had somehow ended up in the nearby bushes, and knelt down to swing the straps over her shoulders. He heard her make a dismayed sound and walked over to where she was sitting, wondering what was wrong now. He found her staring forlornly into the backpack. One of the pockets had been opened and he saw what looked like some kind of metallic paper littering the ground around it.

"My Oreos," the girl moaned, not even noticing him standing over her. "Something took and ate my leftover Oreos."

Dinobot had no clue what Oreos were but he guessed they were some kind of food by the way she'd spoken about them. The idea of some little vermin, like a chipmunk, taking and eating her food was amusing but he also realized if something had taken the last of her food that ment that he'd have to find her something else to eat. If she was hungry anyway.

To make matters worse, she _was_ and let him know in the worst sort of way. "Oh man," she moaned, wrapping her arms around herself. She leaned over and started moaning. "That was going to be my breakfast!" she started rocking back and forth. "Now what am I going to do? I'm so hungry. I think I'm going to be sick!"

Great, just great, she was hungry _and _sick! Now he would have to find her something so she'd feel better. Memories from the day before came to mind. Stubborn vines and rabid baboons. Just great. _Damn it! _

Well he couldn't have her getting sick and him being blamed for it, so he made a descition he would have rather not made. "I'll find you something," he said.

She looked up at him, her big gray eyes full of disbelief. "Really?" she asked. "But I thought you-"

"Forget it!" he cut her off. "And stop questioning things I do!"

She shut her mouth and nodded. No sense angering him further.

Dinobot Maximized and pulled out his sword and tail shield thing. He was about to go off by himself then thought better of it. He put away the shield thing and grabbed her arm. "This time you are coming _with_ me," he said, glaring at her.

_What did I do? _she wondered. "I'm sorry, Dad," she said without thinking.

He gave her a confused look. "Dad?" he said.

"Oops!" she exclaimed, putting her hands over her mouth. "I'm sorry!"

He sighed and shook his head. She was hopeless. First her contant apologizing and now she thought he was her father. Either she was going nuts or he was scaring the crap out of her so much her brain had turned to mush. He frowned. He started wondering if there was a way to make her stop being afraid of him just so she'd stop acting so annoying. No ideas came to mind and he wasn't going to go out of his way just to make her like him. He'd let her deal with that herself. He was protecting her after all, he was sure she'd get over it eventually.

* * *

Rattrap, in robot mode now, finally found the dungeon area but discovered it empty. He had figured, if Yume and Dinobot were in the base, that they'd be in the dungeon area. Not finding them there disappointed him, but he was also relieved. If they weren't there that ment the Predacons hadn't done anything to them. _But what if they already delt with them before we got here? _he thought, leaning against the wall by the door, so he could see down the hall in case someone might be coming. _What if we're too late? _

He didn't even want to think like that. Though he and Dinobot hardly ever got along he'd miss the gear head if something happened to him. As for the girl... he didn't know her very well but he didn't want anything to happen to her either. She didn't deserve it.

_So then, think Rattrap, think, _he said to himself. _If they aren't here they must be somewhere else. All you have to do it find them. _Good thought, but finding them was harder than it sounded. With the Predacon base checked off the list he had no idea where else to start. _Man, things are just getting worse and worse... _He stepped out of the dungeon and scurried quietly down the hall. _Dino-boob is going to get such an earful when I find him!_

* * *

Megatron arrived at the Predacon base just as Airazor and Waspinator flew out of it. "Hey!" he exclaimed when they almost knocked him over. Then he realized who had flown by and went into robot mode. He shot at Airazor but she was too far away for him to reach. Evetually he gave up, telling himself Waspinator could take care of himself then headed into the base, his anger almost reaching its rage level. 

He stepped into the hall just as Scorponok and Blackarachnia came running down it. They smashed into him and they all fell to the floor in a tangle of arms and legs.

Scorponok was the first to notice who he and the widow had tackled. "Megatron!" he exclaimed.

"Grrr," Megatorn growled, glaring at his second in command. "Get off me!"  
The two complied.

Megatron stood up and glared at the two smaller Predacons. "What was that Maximal doing here?" he demanded, pointing outside of the base.

"What Maximal?" Scorponok asked, trying to sound like he had no idea what Megs was talking about.

"Airazor!" Megatron shouted, as if Scorponok was stupid. "What was_ she doing _here?"

"We're not sure," Blackarachnia replied. "But my guess it that she was here looking for Dinobot and the girl."

Megatron was about to blow up at them then calmed down. "Hmm," he said, thoughtfully. "It seems the Maximals figured out what happened to them, yess." he glared at the two. "If they are looking for the traitor and the girl this only means we have to find them all the more quickly." he pointed at them. "You two come with me. We will look for them together, yes."

"But what about the base?" Scorponok asked.

"The base will be fine," Megatron replied. "Right now finding the girl, Dinobot, and the disk is top priority." he turned back to the exit. "Come. Let us continue searching."

The two Predacons followed him out of the base.

From a hiding place Rattrap watched them go. _So, _he thought. _It seems Dino-butt and the Dreamgirl were able to get out of the Predacon base... and with the Golden Disk too. _He tapped his chin with his left index finger. "Hmmm..." he looked around himself at the base. "If they're all going then this place is unguarded." he chuckled to himself. "Who am I to pass up such an opportunity?"

* * *

"What about these?" Dinobot asked, holding up a cluster of reddish berries. 

The girl stared at the berries a moment and recognized them as wild raspberries. "Yes," she said, putting out her hand. 'They are ediable."

He handed them over with a frown. It had been a long morning. He and the girl had spent the past four hours looking through bushes for something the girl could eat. At one point the girl had spotted a skunk and both he and the girl ran away from it as quickly as possible. That had amused the girl when they were out of spraying range and she'd giggled for a half hour at the thought of a big, fierce, beast robot running from a skunk. He'd quite angrily told her that he didn't relish the idea of being sprayed by a skunk and didn't want to get anymore comments from the vermin about how bad he smelled when they finally got back to the Maximal base. Yume had commented on that, saying she didn't think he smelled_ that _bad. He wasn't sure if she was just saying that to keep him from blowing up at her or she really ment it.

At the moment he didn't really care. All he cared about was shutting her up.

"Thank you," the girl said, taking the berries and putting two into her mouth. She would have offered him some but she remembered robots didn't eat and didn't bother with it.

He ignored her anyway and started picking off the vegitation that had clung to his armor. Some kind of annoying sticky plant and a vine, a long trip you up, and laugh at you, vine. He yanked it off his body and angrily threw it away from him. He growled at the nearby vines then noticed Yume giving him a weirded out look. Great, now he was starting to act screwy as well. First she called him 'Dad' and now he was challenging vines. It could only get worse from there. He sighed and leaned against a tree, folding his arms and glaring at her like it was her fault.

She met his eyes for a second then looked away, finishing up with her berries and throwing the vine into the trees. She wiped her hands on her dirty jeans, staining them further, then looked over at him.

He could tell she wanted something. "What?" he demanded.

She looked away and tried to brush the dirt off her jeans. "Nothing," she said. "I was just thinking that I need a bath."

"Bath?" Oh joy, another thing he'd forgotten humans did. Them and their need of personal hygine! "What do you want me to do about it?" he asked, clenchimg his fists. _Go ahead. Say it!_

Her face got slightly red. "I wanted you to help me find some place to wash up," she said quietly. "That's all."

He made that annoyed snarly sigh. "I cannot help you there," he said. He really didn't want her to take a bath, especially not _in front _of him. No, he wasn't a pervert and human bodies didn't 'turn him on' but the very thought of watching her bathe made him feel sick.

"You don't have to if you don't want to," she said. "I can wait until we get to the base then ask someone there to take me."

Images of that scene played through his mind. Slightly perverted Rattrap would probably jump at the chance. Dinobot snarled loudly at the thought. No way! No way in the Pit!

"NO!" he shouted, startling her.

She stared at him with wide eyes. "No what?" she asked. "It's not a big deal. If you don't want to I won't ask anymore."

He didn't want to but he didn't want someone else doing it either. Especially not someone who drooled meck fluid at the sight of topless bar waitresses..."You cannot ask anyone else," he said.

"Why not?" she asked, slightly suspicious. She folded her arms and raised an eyebrow. _ Is there something you're not telling me? _

He could give her no answer. No answer would come. No _right_ answer anyway. "Gah!" he exclaimed, frustrated. "Forget it." he grabbed her arm and drug her along. "Come with me."

* * *

About a half hour later they came upon a body of water. Another river, this one slightly deeper than the stream. Before Yume could ask Dinobot what they were doing there, he lifted her up and chucked her in. She screamed until her body hit the water and she went under. She sank to the bottom then quickly swam back to the surface. When her head broke through she spit water and demanded of the raptor who stood on the shore, watching. "What did you do_ that _for?" she demanded, tredding water. 

The raptor folded his arms and looked over at her. "Now you won't have to take of your clothes," he said, folding his arms and sitting down on a rock.

Yume frowned and swam back to the shore. She climbed out of the water and flopped down on the ground. He glared at her. "Well?" he demanded.

"I," she began, sitting up and taking off her soggy boots. "Don't like bathing with my clothes on." she met his eyes and held them this time, defiantly. "Nor do I like being thrown into rivers! I could have drowned!"

He stared at her. Her tone of voice had changed. He'd ticked her off, he could tell. He smirked.

She angrily yanked off her boots and threw them by the rock Dinobot was sitting on. What was he smirking about? Did her irritation amuse him somehow? She shook her head. She didn't care. She started to strip off her shirt then noticed Dinobot watching her. She looked over at him, a glare forcing itself onto her face. "Do you _mind_?" she asked.

"What now?" he asked.

"Please stop watching me!" she ordered, clenching her fists, her look annoyed and frustrated.

A stare down initiated. Time seemed to stop. A test of will ensured, a test of the power of the mind. Who would look away first? "Fine," he said, after a minute, getting up. "I will... secure the area." then he walked off.

Yume watched him go then took of the rest of her clothes, except her underwear. She looked around to make sure he hadn't returned then dived in.

* * *

Dinobot got out of view of the girl then leaned against a tree. He was ticked off and didn't know why. That girl wasn't a powerful in anyway, he could sit on her and kill her if he wanted to, but now she'd beat him. Not in the combat sense but in the test of wills. Usually he won those kinds of things and had beaten her a few times before but now... _No, _he thought, shaking the thought out of his mind. _She did __**not**__ beat you. You left on your own accord. _He growled and clenched his fists. Who was he kidding? She'd finally beaten him in a stare down, all because of human modesty. What did she care anyway? It wasn't like she had 'curves in the right places'. She wasn't that witch Blackarachnia. Compared to _her_ that girl was almost flat... 

_Why am I __**thinking**__ about that?! I don't__** care **__about that! _he growled and punched a tree to vent his frustration. Things were just getting worse and worse.

"YOU WILL _PAY_ FOR THIS, OPTIMUS PRIMAL!" he shouted at nothing.

* * *

Yume was just washing out her hair when she heard Dinobot's ranting coming from the forest. She couldn't understand a word he was saying so she quickly swam to shore, grabbed her things and ran toward the spot, expecting some kind of fight or something. Some bloody battle that would give him a reason to howl like that. When she reached the spot all she saw was Dinobot angrily beating up trees and yelling incoherent words to himself. It sounded like he was cursing in another language. She stood back, watching his temper tantrom, totally forgetting she hadn't gotten dressed, completely fascinated by his display of frustration. 

Dinobot punched another tree then stood there panting a moment, _Calm down, calm down! This sort of behavior isn't fit for a warrior! You are being irrational! _He heard a noise and turned his head. He spotted the girl hiding behind another tree, staring at him like he'd gone mad.

"WHAT ARE_ YOU STARING _AT?!" he shouted.

The girl stepped back, dropping one of her boots on the ground. "N-nothing," she stuttered. "I wasn't-"

He glared at her until she stopped stuttering. This was all _her_ fault. She was the reason he was being so irrational. Her and her constant- He noticed something else. "AND PUT YOUR CLOTHES ON!"

"Oh!" the girl gasped, dropping her things on the ground. She'd forgotten she was only in her underwear.

He was still glaring at her, looking like he wanted to tear her face off if she didn't get moving. She quickly retrieved her clothing and ran behind the tree to get dressed. _What was that all about? _she wondered as she pulled on her pants.

Dinobot stared at the tree for a few seconds then went into beast mode. He leanded against a tree to steady himself and sighed. Great, just great... now he saw her naked. _Optimus is going to die! _

_A/N_

_I hope I haven't ruined this. _

_Lol. I just realized something. This chapter was __**fun **__to write!_

_If I did make a sequal Yume will meet Silverbolt. Oh man. The knight in shining armor. Do I feel conflict on the horizon? Dinobot won't be able to stand that! HWAHAHAHAA!_

_NUUUUUUUUUUUUU! I DON'T WANT TERRORSAUR TO DIE EITHER! _

_I always thought Rattrap was a bit perverted, after all; he did talk about a toppless bar AND sometimes when he teased Silverbolt he said not to modest things. _

_Dinobot is __**not**__ turned on by her body at all, he just didn't want to see her naked and now that he did... well he wants to kill someone. _


	14. Chapter 14

CHAPTER 14

"What were you thinking?!" Dinobot demanded of Yume after she had gotten dressed and he could look at her again.

"I don't know," she replied, intimidated. "I thought you were in trouble and was just trying to help-"

"_If _I was in trouble how could you have possibly helped?" he cut her off. "You should have stayed where I left you! If I had been engaged in battle you would have been totally useless to me!"

"Well I didn't know," she said, playing with her hair. "I was worried-"

"You-" he stopped. She was _worried_? About _him_? Great. Just great. "Well you do not have to worry about me," he informed her, looking away from her and ahead. "I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself. You on the other hand are just a human with no battle knowledge or skill. If I had ever run into trouble it would be best if you just stayed out of harm's way."

"Okay," she said softly, re-adjusting her backpack strap. "If that's what you really want..."

"Yes," he replied, glaring at her. "That is exactly what I want!"

She looked at the ground. Why was he so mad at her? Was it because he accidently saw her naked or did it involve something that didn't have anything to do with her? She wasn't about to ask. It probably wasn't even any of her business.

He put a clawed hand on her shoulder and pushed her forward. "We had better keep moving," he said, looking around them cautiously. "Megatron could be closeby."

She let him push her ahead and started walking by herself. Right now all she wanted more than anything was to get back to the base and home so she wouldn't have to bother the Ex-Predacon anymore. _It would be better if I went home, _she thought, folding her arms and looking straight ahead. She felt depressed. _At least when I'm at home I don't have to worry about robots kidnapping me..._ _Or them getting angry at me_. Her last thought was directed at Dinobot. _Why does he hate me so much? _

* * *

Megatron soon realized that taking both Scorponok and Blackarachnia was a bad idea. He should have left one of them at the base. He should have left _Scorponok_ at the base. For one thing he and the black widow spider started arguing up a storm the moment they entered the forest. Blackarachnia's bad habit of unwanted flirting hadn't worked on the second in command and now she was ticked off, calling him "gay" and a "prude".

Scorponok shot back a few choice insults of his own and their shouting started getting louder and louder. Megatron was just seconds from shooting both of them when his scanner began going off. _Maximal Signature Detected. _"SHUT UP YOU TWO!" he shouted back at them.

Scorponok and Blackarachnia were only inches from each other, their guns drawn and their teeth bared. Megatron's command made them both look in his direction. They saw him standing totally still and seeming to be listening to something.

"What is it, Megatron?" Scorponok asked.

He looked back at them and smirked. "I think I've found their trail, yess.."

* * *

Rattrap left the Predacon base in a huge graffiti filled, file hacked mess. He dashed out of the _Darkside_ laughing in hysterics as he hid a encrypted disk in a hiding place in his arm. He looked up at the sky just as Airazor finally took out Waspinator, shooting him in the back then watching him spiral to the ground head first. She looked down and spotted her comrade waving. She looked over at Waspinator one last time, to make sure he wouldn't get back up, then flew down to him. "What's wrong?" she asked, landing on the ground in front of him. She's noticed he seemed to be distracted by something.

Rattrap looked back toward the base. "I need a lift," he said nervously, "and fast."

The bird girl looked toward the Darkside. Something told her he'd gotten himself into trouble. "What did you _do_?" she asked, putting her hands on her hips. _Go ahead explain yourself._

He smiled guiltily. "Let's just say when the Preds come home they won't recognize the place," he said unable to keep in another laugh.

Airazor rolled her eyes then turned her back to him. "Get on," she said, sghing with exasperation. She wasn't sure she wanted to know anymore.

Rattrap went into beast mode and climbed onto her back. Airazor took off and just when she was far enough away she heard a loud explosion behind her. She glared back at Rattrap. He smiled nervously and shrugged, his face a picture of innocence. She shook her head and turned her attention back to the sky.

* * *

Dinobot and Yume walked for about an hour and a half without saying anything. The only sounds they made was the noise coming from the twigs they snapped underfoot. For some weird reason the forest had gone completely quiet. This made Yume nervous. In horror movies forests only went quite when the monsters or aliens were close by, ready to pounce. She shivered at the thought, her gray eyes scanning the area for anything sinister. She stepped a little bit closer to Dinobot but didn't feel any safer. _Whatever is out there had better stay away..._

He felt her body heat against him and turned his head. He saw she had a freaked out look on her face. "What is it?" he asked her.

"Why is it so quiet?" she asked, glancing nervously around. "I don't like this. Something's wrong."

He sighed. She was doing it again. "_Nothing_ is wrong," he told her impatiently.

"Then _why_ is it so quiet?" she asked, meeting his eyes.

That he couldn't explain. He had no idea why it was so quiet. He hadn't noticed until she'd said something. Then again; it _was_ unusually quiet... _I wonder why..._

"Hey, what's that?" the girl said suddenly.

He looked back at her. She was pointing at something in the trees. He looked toward the spot. He saw some kind of ruin almost completely hidden in the vines. _What is this? _

He noticed the girl was starting forward. "Where are you going?" he asked, watching her.

"I want to see what that is," she replied, taking two more steps toward it.

He frowned. They didn't have time to be checking out ancient ruins. For all Dinobot knew Megatron was somewhere close by ready to take them both out. He glanced around himself, scanning the area. Nothing indicated Predacons nearby. He looked back at Yume nd saw she was still walking toward the ruin.

"Get _back_ here!" he shouted at her.

She stopped and looked back at him. Something about her eyes didn't seem right. "Just for a second," she said to him. "Please."

He held back and glared at her. Why did she want to look at it so badly? Was it because of that annoying thing called human curiousity? Probably. Yume wasn't about to back down about this issue either. She met his eyes and held them. She really, really, wanted to see what it was and if he didn't agree to it she'd just go look at it anyway. He figured that and didn't want her going by herself. He remembered the warnings about those strange alien sites he and the others had encountered and, if this was one of them, it would be too dangerous for her to investigate it alone.

She put her hands on her hips and cocked her head. He growled. He hated that pose. "Well?" she said after another moment.

"Fine," he gave in. "But only for a minute. Megatron could pick up our signal any moment."

"You mean_ your _signal," she said, folding her arms and looking just a tad smug. "_I'm_ not a robot, remember?"  
"No need to remind me," he said going into robot mode and walking toward her. "Let us make this quick."

She nodded and scampered ahead. He frowned in disapproval but followed her.

* * *

Optimus was still unable to get ahold of Dinobot. He'd finally gotten in contact with Airazor and Rattrap and wasn't the least bit happy about the rat bots demolition job on the Predacon base. He'd quite angrily informed Rattrap that this wasn't the time to go around writting "Rattrap was here" on the Predacon base _or_ blowing up the _Darkside _which he wasn't sure had been the intent though it hadn't worked to well anyway. He was happy that Rattrap was able to hack into the system and steal some important codes but he wasn't about to let on. Right now finding the girl and Dinobot was much more important. If they didn't find them, the Predacons would and this time they wouldn't be so merciful to either.

"Just get back to the base," he ordered them. "I'll keep searching."

"Okay," Airazor replied. "We'll meet you back there."

Optimus cut the connection and sighed. _Where are you? Why can't I get ahold of you? _he hoped they were at least safe.

* * *

For the moment Dinobot and Yume were safe, as they got closer to the strange ruin in the middle of the woods. The closer they got the more Dinobot was convinced the building hadn't been built by human hands. When one of the walls came into view he saw symbols on them that he'd never seen in any of the human data files back on Cybertron. This was alien. He once again thought of the alien sites him and the others had seen. This building was probably one of them.

Yume came to a stop just outside of the building's entrance. _She_ didn't know about the sites as she stared up at it in fascination, thinking that the structure reminded her a little bit of the Aztex pyramids she'd seen in her history books. Only this building was built a little differently and the symbols didn't add it. They looked more like Egyptian hiroglyphs but held hardly any resemblance to that from of writing either other than that they were both made out of symbols.

_Weird, _she thought, stepping close to the ruin and touching one of the symbols on the door. _The writing and the structure are two different things. I wonder if the symbols were put on this years after the building was actually constructed? _she looked them over again. _Yes. It seems to be from two different timelines... I wonder what it means..._

Dinobot watched her as she ran her hand over the symbols. She seemed fascinated by the whole thing though he had absolutely no idea why. He had a bad feeling about this place but he couldn't figure out why. He wanted to warn her about it but didn't for some reason. Instead he watched her slowly move her hand over all the symbols then stop. He saw her face fill with confusion.

"What?" he asked.

"I-," she began then stopped. She ran her hand over the symbol again before she continued. "I-I can _read_ that one."

"What do you mean you can read it?" he asked, surprised.

"I just can..." she stared at the symbol closer. "It's the Egyptian symbol for power." she looked over at him. "Why is this one symbol different than all the rest?"

"How were you able to read it?" he asked her.

"I took Egyptian literature and history as a course last year," she replied absently, looking back at the symbol. "I don't understand why the symbol is here. Something's not right about this..."

Suddenly the door she'd found the symbol on swung open. The girl stared into the abyss for a moment then felt a strong gust of wind pulling her forward. Before she could resist she was pulled in.

"Yume!" Dinobot exclaimed, reaching out to grab her but only grabbing air. He heard her scream echo into the dark chamber the instant before the door slammed shut.

* * *

Megatron, Blackarachnia, and Scorponok were a short distance away when they heard the scream. The three Predacons stopped in their tracks. "What was that?" scorponok asked, looking around.

Megatron listened as the scream faded away. He recognized that scream. "I believe," he began smiling. 'That that is what we are looking for, yesss."

* * *

Dinobot stared at the door as it slammed shut in his face, muting Yume's scream and cutting him off from her. For a moment he just stood there, staring at the door then he let out a roar and drove his sword into it. The blade glanced off its stone surface. His arms went numb and he stood back and glared at the door as he waited for the vibrations to go away and feeling to return. How could he have let her get sucked inside like that? How could he have been so _careless_? Then again he wasn't doing a very good job keeping her safe anyway. Somehow she always seemed to get into trouble. _It is usually my fault for letting my guard down too. _

He could feel his arms again. He raised his sword and was about to hit the door again when something bright came out of it. He stared at a strange looking creature with glowing purple eyes and whispy hair. It's face looked similar to a human skull. He couldn't help the look of utter horror that crossed his face though he forced himself not to panic. What was_ this_?!

"You are not welcome here," it said, before his mind could function enough to speak. "Return to your comrades."

Dinobot quickly got over his horror and glared at the floating skull. "I am not going **anywhere**," he growled to it. "Not until I get the human back!"

"The girl is of no concern to you," it said back. "She is _our_ responsibility. We will not allow you to taint her further."

"What are you talking about?" he shouted. "I have done nothing to that girl since she fell on me! If anything _she's_ tainting _me_!"

"Leave," the thing said again, ignoring the raptor's remark. "Return to your comrades."

Dinobt wasn't about to go anywhere without Yume. He had no idea why this thing wouldn't give the girl back to him but he wasn't about to let them have her. He readied his sword.

"What are you doing?" the thing asked.

"If you do not get out of my way and give me back the girl I will be forced to go through you!" he growled at the alien. "Now give me back the human or die!"

"She is _not _your responsibility," the floating skull said again.

Dinobot snarled at the alien. Like the Pit she wasn't! She was more his responsibility than the alien realized. "I warned you!" he shouted before he attacked.

* * *

_Yume... Yume... Yume... dream... dream... dre...am..._

Yume heard a voice calling her name and got up off the floor. When she'd been sucked into the pyramid she'd flown through the rooms like she'd been sucked in by a vacumm. She hadn't stopped moving until she hit a wall and fell onto the floor. Now as she sat up she felt something wet on her face and wiped it off. Blood. Her nose was bleeding. But that was the least of her problems. She looked around but had no idea where she was or how to get out. To make matters worse, whatever had sucked her in hadn't sucked in Dinobot. That realization caused the fear she'd just begun to get over to come screaming back. She had to force herself to breathe to keep from panicking.

_Calm down, girl, _she thought as she slowly stood up and looked around herself. _You can get out of here. You just have to keep your head. _she took a few more deep breaths then started walking. Her boots echoed loudly off the stone floor.

She hadn't gotten very far when she heard that voice again.

_Yume... Yume... Dream..._

She stopped and frowned. _Who is that and why are they saying my name in English? _

_Yume..._

She looked back over her shoulder. She noticed something glowing coming from across the room. "What's that?" she asked herself out loud. She walked toward the light.

The closer she got the farther away it seemed to get. That just made her want to follow it more and it finally led her into a room that reminded her of the auditorium at her school, only without the seats. In the center of the room she spotted the light. It hovered in the air above her.

She stared up at it, trying to figure out how it was able to move by itself and why it led her there. She didn't have to wonder for very long because the light grew brighter and enveloped her in it. She froze in horror as something that looked like a skull with glowing red eyes flew toward her in the light. The thing looked like something from her worst nightmare. She wanted to scream but, when she opened her mouth to do so, nothing came out.

The monster stopped in front of her and said. "Why are you here?"

"What?" she asked.

"Why are you here?" it asked again. "You do not belong in this time. Why are you here?"

"I don't know what you're_ talking _about," she said, taking a step back. "Are you responsible for dragging me into this tomb?"

"It was for your own safety," it replied.

'What?" she asked. "My own safety? What do you mean?"

"We cannot let you be tainted by the strange beings," it replied.

"Do you mean Dinobot?" she asked. "He's not_ tainting _me!"

The thing flew closer and she stepped back. "Don't come any closer!" she shriked. "Just stay back! Stay away from me!"

The alien came closer anyway. It got right into her face. "You don't belong here. You must return to your rightful time."

"I-I _can't _return to my rightful time!" she exclaimed. "The thing that brought me here isn't working!"

The alien took this with no reaction. 'Then," it said, turning from her. "_We_ will have to send you back."

* * *

The alien didn't challenge him as he came toward it. All it did was disappear like it was a hologram. He went right through it and slammed into the door of the pyramid. He slid down the stone door till he was one his knees then shook the stars out of his vision and got up. He looked over his shoulder but saw no flying skull. It, whatever it was, had vanished. "Come and face me, coward!" he shouted angrily to nothing.

His only reply was a familiar chuckle. He froze, his sword in his hand and scanned the area. His sensors picked up Predacon energy signatures and not just one. He moved slightly, trying to get into a strategic position, and was shot in the chest. He grunted and flew back against the stone door. He groaned and looked up just as Megatron, Scorponok, and Blackarachnia stepped out of the brush.

"Megatron..." he growled, glaring at the purple Predacon.

"Yes it's me," he said, grinning. "And you're Dinobot. Now that we know each other it's time for you to answer some questions, yess."

Dinobot growled at him. "I do not wish to answer any questions right now," he forced himself to stand. "I am busy."

Megatron didn't want to hear that. He was still ticked off about losing his disk, the human girl, _and_ getting flattened by a rolling stone. He angrily closed the distance between him and Dinobot and grabbed him by the throat, slamming him against the stone door. "I don't have time for your games, Dinobot, nooo," he snarled, his pinkish purple eyes locking with Dinobot's red with in fury. "I know you have the girl and the disk back so I'll give you until the count of three to tell me where they are. One... Two..."

Dinobot growled at him. "I do not have either."

"Then _where_ are they?" Megatron demanded.

The raptor smirked at him. "Right_ here_," he said, touching the symbol that Yume had touched.

Suddenly the door came flying open and sucked both robots inside.

_A/N_

_IT'S THE VOK! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! They know Yume doesn't belong in that time period. MWAHAHAHAHA! You know what? I don't think I'll bother making anymore stories that are related to this topic anymore after I finish this and begin the sequal because nobody reads them anyway and those who are reading __**this**__ seem to be losing interest. AM I BORING YOU? I'M SO SORRY!!!!!! I guess this means "Organic" sucks. :sad:  
_


	15. Chapter 15

**Why do some of you want Yume and Depth Charge to be together for? What do they have in common besides nothing? I haven't even begun the sequal and you all want them together. O.O Can you explain yourselves? One more thing; Sorry about going emo on you before. I get depressed easily. I'm not emo now. XD**

CHAPTER 15

Yume was scared to death. The floating skull had been joined by another with purple eyes and the two skulls were flying above her, talking in a language she couldn't understand even if she took all the language courses on earth. Her only guess was that they were talking alien and about her and wanted to send her back to the time she had come from. She would have welcomed the idea, if the way they were doing it had been entirely her choice. These alien creatures seemed to think they had her best interests in mind but she knew better.

Her best interests would not have been being forced into a transparent glass orb, or being gawked at by a third alien with glowing blue eyes, who seemed slightly younger than the other two. These things weren't even going to give her a chance to say goodbye to the Maximals, saying if she returned to them they would taint her further. She had no clue what they ment by that, and didn't bother asking. It wasn't like the Maximals were trying to make her into something she couldn't become.

"Please," she said to the floating skulls.

They stopped doing whatever they were doing to look at her. "It is better this way," they told her, their voices strangely gentle. "Your species is too important for them to mess with any further. This is for your own good."

Yume didn't believe that. She wanted to tell them that but, never being good with the right words, couldn't speak clear enough to be understood. When the aliens turned their attention elsewhere Yume sat there, trying to keep from screaming and crying at the same time. "Dinobot," she whispered. "You'll come get me won't you?"

* * *

Inferno and Terrorsaur still hadn't found Tarantulas. The two Predacon fliers had trekked a pretty good distance away from the spider's lair but they still hadn't even picked up his trail. Inferno blamed Terrorsaur. He said it was the dinosaur bot's fault for starting the fight. Terrorsaur blamed Inferno, saying none of this would have happened if Inferno hadn't of collapsed the lair's roof. Fortunately the only thing that happened this time was loud arguing and some rock throwing. Neither wanted to get into another fight. Terrorsaur had already gotten into two so far and the only fight he wanted to get into now involved him and the Maximals.

Inferno on the other hand would have loved a fight while half his mind was on fighting the other was on following orders and he couldn't do two things at once. Fighting would have to come later. Orders always came first. Duty before pleasure.

"We're _not_ going to find him," Terrorsaur finally said.

Inferno looked back at him. "Yes, we will," he insisted.

"No we _won't," _Terrorsaur insisted. "Tarantulas knows how to hide when he doesn't want to be found."

Inferno was insistant. "We _will _find him!"

"No, we _won't."_

"Yes, _we will_."

Terrorsaur sighed. There was just no convincing the stupid fire ant.

Just then something came flying out of the ground right in front of Inferno. "Whoa!" the ant exclaimed, falling back to avoid a collision. As he did so Tarantulas came flying out of the ground, still in beast mode, and landed on top of Inferno though he'd moved back.

The fire ant, taken by surprise, shot off his gun. The blast went into the air then exploded like a fire work. Tarantulas got off him, went into robot mode, and started running.

"Hey!" Inferno exclaimed, rubbing the back of his neck as he got up. "Get back here!"

Tarantuals turned to give him a not so nice gesture then continued running. Inferno chased after him while Terrorsaur stood back and watched. When the two were far enough away he turned from them and flew in the opposite direction. _Inferno doesn't need me, _he told himself. _That maniac can take care of himself. _

* * *

Both Dinobot and Megatorn hit the floor about the same time. The raptor got up first and readied his weapon, the green lazers in his eyes charging up as he got ready to fire. Megatron was faster than he expected. The Predacon shot up off the floor and tackled Dinobot, causing him to crash onto the cold stone floor. The raptor growled at him and shot Megatron with the lazers from his eyes. Megs took it in the face and yelled in agony, getting up and rubbing his face.

Dinobot saw a chance and took it. He also got up and kicked Megatron in the chest. Megatron fell back against the wall and regained his senses just in time to grab Dinobot's fist when it came flying at his face.

"I think not, no," he said before kicking the smaller robot away from him.

Dinobot hit the wall on the other side of the room and staggered forward slightly. He lifted his head and glared at Megatron. Megatron smirked, lifted his T-rex head, and fired.

* * *

The flying skulls heard an explosion from somewhere else in the tomb and looked away from the girl. She stared at them. What had preoccupied them? Then she heard it too. The sound of violence. It sounded like two very large somethings were having an all out war in the walls. Yume only hoped one of them was coming to rescue her from the aliens that were trying to send her home.

"It seems the tainted ones have entered the structure," one of the aliens said.

"It doesn't matter," another said carelessly. "By the time they get here we will be finished."

Yume didn't like the wording of that. She knew they meant her. Well she wasn't about to let them send her back so easily. She stood up and pulled off her backpack. Judging the weight, she flung it forward and into the glass like substance surrounding her. When it shattered she was a bit surprised. She hadn't expected it to work. She'd expecting alien glass to be much thicker. Seeing that is wasn't was a relief.

Alerted by the crash, the aliens looked back at her. She stared at them a moment then ran quickly out of the room, slinging her backpack over her shoulder.

_I have to get out of here,_ she thought as she ran. _I have to find Dinobot. _She altered her course slightly and ran toward the sound of violence.

"No!" the aliens called after her. "Come back here! You must not corrupted further!"

She looked over her shoulder and saw them chasing after her. _Ohmygod! Ohmygod! Ohmygod!_

* * *

It wasn't until about five minutes later that Inferno discovered he was chasing Tarantulas by himself. The realization annoyed him but it was too late to look for the other Predacon. He did have a choice on what he should do but he chose to continue chasing the spider because that had been the last order he'd been given. The ant's one track mind didn't have room for choices.

Tarantulas finally got tired of running from the fire ant and stopped, going into robot mode and firing his gun at Inferno. The ant didn't like being shot at and fired back.

Tarantulas dodged the last fireball then started running again.

* * *

Megatron had managed to pin Dinobot to the floor. The raptor glared up at him, snarling angrily as he struggled against the bigger Predacon's hold.

"Yield, Dinobot," Megatron said, smirking. "You can't beat me, noo."

"We shall see about that," the raptor growled then kicked Megatron off of him.

Megs flew off him and landed hard on the floor. As he tried to get up he found Dinobot's sword at his throat. "Go ahead," Megatron said, tauntingly. "Do it."

Dinobot wanted to do it but something held him back. Something that he couldn't figure out. Roaring rebeliously, he raised his sword to plunge it into Megatron's metal chest but stopped when he heard a voice scream. "Dinobot!"

He looked to his left and saw Yume running toward him. "Dinobot!" she screamed again.

"Yume?" he said, surprised by the sight of her but relieved to see she was okay.

Megatron took advantage of Dinobot's distraction. He raised his T-Rex arm and shot at the roof above the spot where the girl was coming from. She screamed as it all caved in around her. Dinobot watched this in horror then turned to Megatron. He angrily plunged his sword downward but the Predacon deflected it and shoved Dinobot away. Meagtron got up and ran toward the spot where the roof had fallen around the girl. Just as he reached the spot three skulls with glowing eyes came into the room.

Megatron stopped in his tracks and stared at them. "What?!" he exclaimed.

"Megatron!" the aliens called to him. "You have killed one of the humans. You will be punished for you action."

Megatron stared at them a moment then recovered. "I don't think so, no," he said shooting at the roof around them. It fell down and he fled.

As Megatron ran past him Dinobot got up off the floor. He shot after the retreating figure with his eye lazers but missed by inches. When the Predacon was gone the raptor chose against chasing him and ran over to the spot where the roof had fallen in on Yume. He saw the aliens hovering around the spot but ignored them. He'd deal with them later.

Kneeling down, he started digging the girl out of the rubble. He pulled away a huge rock and threw it against the wall. Underneath was the girl. Her arms were over her head as if to protect herself from falling debrees. It didn't looked like it had done much.

"Yume!" he exclaimed, grabbing her and yanking her as gently as he could out of the debree. He turned her over and looked at her face.

She didn't look too bad considering her face had dried blood on it and she was covered in scratches. The falling rubble had knocked her unconscious. For a second he thought she was dead but he heard her breathing and was relieved.

About then the Vok chose to open their big mouths. "Give us the human," they ordered.

Dinobot looked up at them, surprised and a little bit angry. "What?" he said.

"Give us the human," they said again. "We will not allow your race to taint her further."

The raptor glared at them. "This is _not _my fault," he told them angrily. "If _you_ had not taken her from my care this never would have happened!"

"You cannot blame us for what has happened," they told him. "This is all your doing."

"So you say," he growled. He slowly got up, cradling the girl in his arms. "I will not allow you to assume things about issues you know nothing about."

"Give us the human," they said again.

He snarled at them. "No."

"Then we will have to take her from you."

* * *

Scorponok and Blackarachnia were trying to figure out how to open the door to the tomb when Megatron came crashing out. The two smaller Preds had to jump back to avoid being trampled. When they saw the look on his face they wondered what had happened. It seemed... scared?

"What is it, Megatron?" Scorponok asked.

Megatron looked back into the darkness of the tomb. "It's not important now, no," he said, forcing himself to calm down. "Let's just get out of here."

The other two Predacons looked at each other then followed him away from the tomb.

* * *

Inferno had finally caught Tarantulas. He'd shot the spider in the back as he tried to run and, as the scientist tried to get up, had stomped a foot onto his back and held him down. "Now, spider," the fire ant said, pointing his gun at the spider's head. "It's time for you to answer some questions."

"I don't have to answer anything," Tarantulas told him defiantly. "Especially not to you."

The fire ant didn't like that answer. He would have blown Tarantulas head off but he was under orders to find out what he was up to. "Then you will answer them to the Royalty," Inferno said reaching down, and grabbing the spider around the neck. His flying mechanism came on and he flew back to the Predacon base with his unwilling cargo.

* * *

Dinobot growled at the aliens as they came closer. There was no way he was going to let them have the girl. He'd gone through too much already just to get her back. Though she was more trouble than she was worth, he wasn't about to let three crazy aliens have her. He charged up his eyes lazers and, when they got close enough, aimed them at the ceiling and fired. The roof caved in on the aliens. Seeing his chance, the raptor turned and ran.

He himself was surprised he'd run from battle but, if he hadn't, the aliens would have taken the girl and done who knows what to her. He couldn't have that. Not after all he'd been through. No way.

Once he was out of the tomb he kept on running until he was far enough away to stop. As he slowed down he glanced over his shoulder. The aliens hadn't followed him. He wasn't sure if that was a good sign or a bad. Well, it didn't matter. He had something more important on his mind.

Stopping in a clearing, he set the girl down on the ground and leaned over her, hoping she was okay. She seemed to be. He couldn't be too sure, though. Human bodies were a lot weaker than metal. She wasn't dead but he wasn't sure if that meant anything or not.

She could be in a coma...

He leaned his face closer just as the girl regained consciousness. When her gray eyes came open the first thing she saw was a huge blue face with red eyes peering at her. The sight startled her and she screamed right into that face.

"Gah!" the face roared, moving away from her. Now she saw the whole body. Dinobot.

"Oh my god!" she exclaimed, sitting up partway. "I am so sorry!"

He looked back at her. Whatever worry that had been on his face was now gone as he glared at her. She had no idea why he was doing that.

"What did I do?" she asked.

"What did you _do_?" he repeated, annoyed at the tone she'd used. _You and that sweet innocent voice of yours!_ "_**What did you do**_?" he got right into her face and yelled. "You are always doing something! Why did you let those things take you? Why did you not move?!"

"Well sorry," she said, feeling defensive. "It wasn't my fault. It wasn't like I _wanted_ them to yank me into the abyss like that! If I had known it was coming I would have moved!"

"Dah!" he exclaimed, moving away from her and standing up so he could vent better. He was ticked off and didn't really know why, so he took it out on her. "Why do I even _bother _with you!? Do you even know how many times I have to save you? Do you know much _trouble _you are?"

"I'm sorry," she said finally, getting up. She was now just as angry as he was. She didn't know why he was so mad. It hadn't been her_ fault_. Bad moods were always contagious and now _she_ needed to vent as well. "I'm sorry I was born a human! I'm sorry I can't fight like you! I'm sorry I fell onto your ass! I'm sorry I'm such a pain in the ass!" she got right into his face this time. "I'M SORRY I EVER GOT MESSED UP WITH YOU FREAKIN' LIFE!"

"Watch your mouth!" he yelled back.

"Watch your own mouth!" she shot back, her face inches from his own. "I am trying my best not to make you have to worry about me too much. I've even tried to be nice to you! I've even tried not to get on your nerves! But how do you react to the whole thing? You go and tell me how much trouble I am! Well I can't help it that everything and everyone wants to kidnap me and try to use me in some twisted way!" Tears were coming to her eyes even though she tried her best to hide them. "Well if you're just going to be that way then you won't have to worry about me anymore!" then she turned and ran, her hair flying behind her like a banner as she yanked her backpack off the ground.

Before Dinobot could say anything she'd disappeared among the trees.

For about ten seconds Dinobot just stood there, staring in the direction she had gone. Her little explosion had taken him completely by surprise. He never thought she'd be like that. Now that he knew it... He'd worry about that later. He had another problem. He couldn't let her run off like that. She'd get lost or worse, eaten by something.

_Why not just leave her?_ a voice in his head asked. _She'd deserve it._

Dinobot shook his head. Such things were dishonorable. "I cannot do that," he told himself. "That would be... wrong..."

He took off after her, not exactly sure why.

* * *

Dinobot found her a short time later. She had stopped running, either unwillingly or by choice he didn't care, and was now sitting down on a rock staring at the Golden Disc. She'd taken it out of her backpack and was now just staring at it, the smooth surface reflecting her depressed expression. He thought he saw her crying. He took a step toward her.

She heard him and looked up. Her face went from frightened to sad and slightly angry. "What do_ you _want?" she demanded. "Have you come to yell at me again?"

He was tempted to but didn't. He shook his head. "No," he replied.

"Then what do you _want?" _she asked.

"I was given responsibility to take care of you," he said. "I cannot just let you run off unprotected."

"Bull," she cut him off. "Both of us know you didn't want this job." She turned from him. "If that's all you're going to say I suggest you get away from me."

"No," he said. He wasn't about to be ordered around by a human. "I will not do that."

"Maybe you should," she shot back. "You know you want to."

He wanted to, oh how he wanted to but he couldn't. "I cannot do that either," he said.

"Why not?"

"It would be dishonorable."

She looked back at him, a strange look on her face. "I think it has more to do than honor," she told him.

He didn't bother denying it.

"But," and she looked away again. "I'm, not going anywhere with someone who thinks I'm a burden."

"I," he began to say something mean but held it back. Instead he said. "I am sorry."

She looked back at him. Her eyes full of surprise. "Excuse me?" she said. "What did you say?"

He said it louder. "I am sorry."

"Do you mean it?"

"Yes." and he really did. He walked over to her and sat down beside her. "I am really sorry for the way I have been treating you." he told her, without looking at her. "I'm not used to this sort of thing."

"I could tell," she commented.

He ignored her little stab. "I should not have been so rude to you," he told her, looking at her now. "I was wrong. I should have been nicer. I am sorry."

She stared at him, not sure she believed him. She knew he couldn't really gain anything from being honest to her. He'd only say such things if he meant them. If he didn't, he wouldn't have said it. She'd figured that out quite easily. She smiled.

"What?" he asked.

"Your eyes aren't as hateful as I thought they were."

He stared at her, confused. "Huh?"

She didn't explain. Instead she smiled again and stood up, shoving the disc back into her pack and putting it back on. "Well then," she said. "Let's get back to the base."

_A/N_

_I like this chapter. It's cute for some reason. _

_CONFRONTATION! LOL. She can't stay a chicken wuss forever. Aww an apology. Things will be slightly different but old habits are hard to break. It probably won't last too long. I still have awhile to go before the end. :D_

_I think my view of Inferno might be different from everyone elses. lol_

_Hmm I think I'll write a fic for the new movie sometime soon. Mikaela meets Acree anyone? lol_


	16. Chapter 16

CHAPTER 16

"So why'd you run out of that tomb anyway?" Blackarachnia asked Megatron as she, the Predacon leader and Scorponok headed back to the base to recooperate. Because of Energon buildup they were all in beast mode. Megatron was walking a good distance ahead of them because he was ticked and also because his tail kept on sweeping back and forth rapidly and the two smaller Preds didn't want to be hit by it.

"It's not important, no," he told her, looking over his shoulder at the widow. "It's best if you didn't know."

That kind of answer never satisfied Blackarachnia. "Why?" she prompted.

"Because I said so!" he shouted at her, in no mood for her prying. He fact was; Those aliens had scared him. Scared him more than he thought they would but he wasn't about to admit it, not to her.

"I bet Dinobot beat him and he's too embarressed to admit it," Blackarachnia said to Scorponok, loud enough for Megatron to hear.

Her stabbing comment got his attention. "He did not!" he shouted back at her.

She'd find out one way or another. "Then _what_ is wrong?"

"None of your business!"

"Hmm."

* * *

Terrorsaur wasn't sure where he should start looking for Dinobot and the girl so he chose to look anywhere that would be in close range of the base. He couldn't remember how far Dinobot could walk in a day but he didn't figure it was far. He told himself he'd find them easily but so far it didn't seem like that was true at all. So far he'd found nothing and it was starting to tick him off.

_Where are they? _he thought, flying over the forest. _They can't have gone far. I would have seen them if they had. _

What he didn't know was that, right at that moment the two were walking right under him. But he couldn't have known even if he was looking down because the trees hid them from view. But even if he _had_ seen them he wouldn't have done anything anyway because Dinobot was still in a bad mood and if he'd seen the pterasaur he would have savegely taken him out.

Right now he was busy talking to Yume, and trying to get into a better mood. He was starting to realize she wasn't obnoxious after all and was starting to like her, if only a little bit. He still refused to get close though, and kept that wall up even as they talked. If something happened to her he didn't want to have any emotional attachment, those kinds of emotions would just hinder his thinking and rationality. Yume could sense it and didn't attempt to break through. He'd let it come down when he felt like it. Now was not that time, and she wasn't sure that time would ever become existant.

Something was bothering him and she was the only one who could give him an answer. He went out of his way to ask. "Yume," Dinobot said.

"Yes?" she asked, looking up at him.

"What were those things that took you?" he asked.

She shook her head. "I don't know," she answered. "They didn't say."

"What were they going to do to you?"

"They were going to send me back home," she replied.

"Really?" he said, surprised. He'd thought they were going to do something else to her. That kind of thing never even crossed his mind but now something else bothered him. "Then why did you not let them? I know you want to go home. They gave her a chance to do so. Why did you not take it?"

Her reply was completely honest. "Because I didn't like the way they were doing it," she replied. "I didn't like how they talked about you and the others. I didn't trust them and they scared me."

"I scare you too," he pointed out. "Yet you ran to me."

"I'm not as scared of you as I am of them," she replied, not meeting his eyes. "Those creatures are the worst looking things I have ever seen. I don't want to ever see them again. I also prefer being with you and the others to being with them and I trust you guys." she smiled slightly at that. "And if I want to get home I don't mind waiting until your friend Rhinox fixes the thing that brought me here in the first place. I don't really have anything to go home to anyway."

"What about your family?" he asked.

"They don't care about me," she said, sighing. "My father is a drunk and a wife beater and my mother works two jobs. She is hardly ever at home and I wind up taking care of my brother who is old enough to take care of himself."

Dinobot said nothing. He never had to deal with anything like that so he couldn't say anything.

"On top of that; I'm considered a nerd at school," she replied. "I don't have very many friends and the ones I do have are usually too busy to hang out with me." she sighed. "So, no. I do not have any reason to go back right now."

"Running from it will not help," he told her.

"What?" she asked. She looked up at him her face demanding an explaination for his words.

He was going to give her one. "You are running from it," he replied, folding his arms and looking right into her eyes. "Staying here just because you do not want to return to your problems is running. Running does not help in anyway. You must learn to face your problems, not avoid them."

"Facing them doesn't help, Robo-rapotor," she told him, a little defensively. "I _have_ faced them. I've stood up for myself many times. It doesn't help."

"You are not as pathetic as you think you are," he told her.

"Excuse me?" she said, now offended. "I am_ not _pathetic!"

Dinobot easily challenged her claim without worrying about how she'd feel. "Then explain yourself," he told her. "You say that you have stood up for yourself to people yet it does no good. You act as if everyone in the world is out to destroy you." he glared at her. "You know that is not true. I am sure you have won a few times, you just don't want to admit it."

"How would _you _know?" she demanded.

"Well if you are thinking that I will say that I know how you feel, you are wrong," he told her. "I cannot relate to your problems but I know you are not as pathetic as you make yourself out to be. If you were you would have been killed by now."

His words offended her. "Hmph!" she folded her arms and turned away from him. "You don't understand _anything_!"

"I understand more than you think I do," he shot back. "You have a temper. You are not some innocent victom who cannot hold her ground. You can stand up for yourself."

'How would you know?" she asked again.

"Because you have stood up to me," he replied. "Just before. You did not let yourself become intimidated by me any longer and you stood up to me. If you learn to do that more often in your own time you will not have anymore problems. Coming from the background you mentioned, you should have learned that for yourself without having to have someone tell you."

Yume said nothing. He was right and she knew it. He was right and she couldn't say anything to tell him he wasn't.

"You know I am right," he said. "If you deny it I will know you are lying."

"No," she said. 'I'm not going to deny it." she turned to him slowly. "I know you are right. I should stand up for myself more often but it's hard!"

He nodded. He could understand that much. He'd had this discussion with Cheetor once when the younger bot had self esteem issues. _Youth, _he thought. _They always have problems. Why is it always this way? At least I can try to make them less useless. They need to learn to deal with their problems. _"It can be hard," he told her. "but you will learn to overcome that and then it will be easy."

She studied him. "I get the feeling you've had this discussion with someone before," she commented.

"Perhaps," was all he said.

She smiled... then stepped over to him and hugged his legs. He stared down at her and made no reaction. She'd done this before but he'd would never get used to it. Hugging wasn't his thing. When he was sure she'd done it long enough he gently pried her loose and held her away. She didn't fight against it. She could sense he wasn't comfortable with hugging, it could be understood. He was a Predacon after all. Predacons weren't the type for physical contact of any kind. It probably made them feel as if they weren't in control.

"Thanks," she said when he let her go.

"For what?"

"For helping me deal with myself," she replied.

* * *

Megatron was not in the mood for anymore surprises so when they got back to the now sabitoged _Darkside _and he saw the damage, he took his anger out on the closest thing his hand could get ahold of. The closest thing happened to be Waspinator who had finally returned to the base himself, after getting his head out of the ground. Since he was in grabbing distance Megatorn did just that. "Who did this?!" he bellowed, gesturing at the damaged ship. "Who's the smart aleck who did this to the base?!" he glared at poor Waspinator who squirmed in his grasp. "Do you know who did this?"?  
"Noo.. Wazzpinator doezz not know," the wasp robot said struggling franticly. "Wazzpinator too buzzzy fighting bird-bot!"  
Megatron, seeing he wouldn't get any information out of Waspinator, angrily thrust him aside and stomped into the base. Once inside he spotted the grafitti Rattrap had left behind. "RATTRAP WAS HERE?!" he exclaimed so loudly the three Predacons outside could hear him. "How did that vermin sneak into the base!? Somebody is going to suffer for this, yessss!"

The other three Predacons looked at each other. "I think we'd better get out of his way," Blackarachnia said.

"Yeah!" Scorponok agreed.

They scattered.

* * *

"So why don't you tell me about this human girl, Cheetor," Tigatron asked. He'd been wanting to know some things about the girl since he'd heard about her but hadn't found the time to ask. Now that he and Cheetor currently had nothing to do since they couldn't find her or Dinobot he figured it was time he learned all he could. Ths information just might come in handy in the future.

Cheetor wasn't about to keep it from him. The smaller cat robot leaned against a large rock and folded his arms as he explained. "The girl is just your basic female human," he said as if he was describing a potted plant. "Well not basic. She's Asian. She's got long black hair and gray eyes. She's kinda scrawny too. I'm not sure about her age or height because I didn't really pay attention to it."  
"I didn't really want to know about her anatomy, Cheetor," Tigatron said, patiently.

Cheetor was confused. "Oh?" he said. "Then what did you want to know."

"Personality," the tiger 'bot replied. "Descriptions make them seem less organic. How does she act? What is her personality?"

"Well from what I've seen of it it's insecure, shy, and easily intimidated," Cheetor replied. "She wasn't exactly all bubbly at the realization that she wound up here."

"I cannot blame her," Tigatron replied nodding. "If I was her and wound up in the same situation I'd feel like that too."

"Maybe you would," Cheetor admitted. "But I doubt it."

Tigatron chuckled. "You don't know me as well as you think you do, then," he said. He got off the rock he was sitting on and turned to Cheetor. "Come. I think we'd better head back to the base and let the others know what we didn't find."

* * *

Dinobot and Yume stepped out of the forest about an hour later. Since their encounter with the Vok the animals in the forest seemed to be avoiding them. Yume wasn't sure if they sensed the alien presense or were just too busy with something else to care. Either way it didn't matter. She was just glad that the animals were avoiding them even though, if they did attack, Dinobot could have easily taken care of them.

"AH!" she said, stretching and taking in the sunlight on her face. "I missed the sun!"

Dinobot didn't say anything. He looked around, doing a quick scan to make sure no Predacons were nearby before he relaxed. "We do not have time to waste," he said to her. "We must head back to the base."

"I know," she replied, lowering her arms and looking back at him. "But which way is the base?"

He paused. He looked around the area. He didn't recognize anything. "I think we went the wrong way," he said, his voice calm.

Yume didn't like that or his tone of voice. "What?!" she exclaimed, staring at him. "What do you mean we went the wrong way?"

"It seems we took a wrong turn somewhere," he replied. "We will have to go back."

Yume frowned. Things were getting worse and worse. She didn't _want_ to go back into the woods. She didn't like it in there. For all she knew the aliens might be in there waiting for them to come back so they could grab her and send her home. She shivered at the memory of their faces. She really didn't want to see them again.

"Is there a way we can get to the base from here?" she asked.

He gave her a curious face. "Why?" he asked.

She didn't meet his eyes as she played with her hair. "I, well..." she stammered.

It came to him. "You do not want to go back into the forest," he stated.

She looked up at him. "Y-yes," she admitted. "I don't want to go back in."

"Why?"

"I'm afraid those aliens will come after me again," she replied looking like she was going to burst into tears. "Please don't make me go back in there."

He frowned at her and folded his arms. He could feel that bossy nature coming to him. The part of him that always did what he wanted. The part of him who wanted to force her to go back in. But another part of him told him if he tried it he'd regret the outcome. He didn't need her running away from him or doing anything like that again. He would have to think of some kind of alternative. "Fine," he said after a moment. "We will not go back in."

Her face filled with relief. Good, she wouldn't have to go back in.

"But," he said. "If we take this way it will be much harder to find the way back."

She didn't seem to mind and told him so. He didn't like the idea but he wasn't about to argue with her again so he said nothing. They stepped away from the entrance to the woods and started over the rocky ground.

_A/N_

_I miss the old cartoons. The ones from my childhood are far better than the ones they have today. 80's and 90's cartoons were so great... then along came Moocha Loocha. _

_Heh. After this chapter it might take me a little longer to do updates for the fic. I'm very sorry but my mind is on other things and it's hard to concentrate on this. I'll try my best to keep updating and make the ending good as well. I hope you're not too disappointed in me. _


	17. Chapter 17

CHAPTER 17

"Dinobot," Yume said as she and the Ex-Predacon took the long route back to the Maximal base. "Have you ever had a girlfriend?" she was running out of things to talk about and it was the only thing that she could think of to ask him about. Most of the things she asked he either refused to answer or gave round about answers. Hopefully he'd be honest with this one.

Dinobot didn't like the question and seemed to try to avoid answering it. "Why do you want to know that?" he asked, sounding a little annoyed.

She looked over her shoulder at him. She was walking a few feet ahead of him, her steps having a little more bounce in them. She cocked her head, her gray eyes curious. "I'm just asking," she said. "If you didn't then that's okay. I was just curious..."

He sighed and looked away from her. He hated looking at her eyes. They always had that weird thing about them. Something he didn't like. He could talk better not looking at them. "I had one once," he replied, sounding like he'd rather talk about something else. "A long time ago on Cybertron..."

"Oh," Yume said, sensing something in Dinobot's body language. "What happened to her?"

"She is..." he paused. "Gone."

"Oh," she said, "I'm sorry."

"You are not to blame," he told her. "You had nothing to do with what happened."

"What did happen?"

He shot her a look that said he'd rather not talk about it. She didn't push it. Whatever it was, it was something that was only his business. She had no right to try to get it out of him. She nodded. "I understand," she said.

"No, you do _not _understand," he said. "You have never had someone you cared deeply for taken away from you."

She gave him a correcting look. "Yes, I have," she said. "But it wasn't the love of my life. I was responsible for this person and they were killed." she folded her arms and looked at her feet. "It never would have happened if I had been paying attention..."

Dinobot didn't ask. He had a feeling she didn't want to talk about it anyway. He said nothing and she let it go. She didn't have time to think about it. Not now. There were more important things to think about.

* * *

Inferno was totally oblivious to the recent events as well as Rattrap's make over of the _Darkside_. He was more than a little confused when he returned to the base with his prize and found Waspinator, Blackarachnia, and Scorponok cleaning up the base. "Huh?" he said, landing near the entrance and dropping Tarantulas on the ground. He stared at the other three Predacons and the _Darkside_, taking in the mess. "What has happened to the colony?"

"The Maximals," Blackarachnia replied, walking past him with a pile of junk. "Mainly Rattrap."

"Rattrap?"

"Yeah, the vermin hacked into the computers and spray painted grafitti all over the base," Scorponok replied. "Don't bother Megatorn right now. He's not in a very good mood."

"Why?" Inferno asked. "Didn't the Royalty find the traitor and the human?"

Scorponok shook his head. "No," he replied. "Something happened and he was unable to get either back."

Inferno let this information sink in then said. "Well I brought the spider." he held up Tarantulas. "Surely this will make the Royalty feel better."

"Maybe." Scorponok agreed.

"So where is the Queen?" Inferno wanted to know.

"In his room."

Inferno saluted and drug Tarantulas off to Megatron's room.

* * *

"Do sparks work like hearts?" Yume asked after a few minutes of walking in complete silence.

"Hearts?" Dinobot looked a bit confused. He wasn't sure what a heart was. Sure he'd read about them but he didn't put much thought into them. Hearts were for organics and weren't that important.

"Yes," she said. "Rhinox explained to me before that the spark is what gives transformers their life. If you take the spark from the body or the spark is destroyed the transformer dies."

"That is true," he replied. "But if the spark is stolen from the body it can always be returned and the body comes back to life." he looked at her. 'but if a heart is taken from the body the organic being will die and, even if the heart is returned, the organic body cannot return to life."

"That's true," she admitted. "So what are sparks really?"

"If you want a brief explaination they are the heart and soul of a transformer," he replied. "The spark is also the personality. If you took the spark from one transformer and put it into another that one should have the spark's personality."

"Should?" she asked.

"It's never been done," he replied, folding his arms. "It is best if it was never tried."

"Oh," she said, nodding. "I see."

He gave her a curious look. "Why do you want to know this?" he asked her. "What will this kind of knowledge do for you?"

"I'm not going to use it for anything," she replied, turning back to him and raising her hands. "I'm just curious about you all. Whenver I see robots on cartoons they usually have no personality at all or are controled by someone." she pointed up at him. "You, the Maximals, and the Predacons act differently than I'm used to. It's strange. You all act almost human."

"That we are not," he informed her. "We do not have the weaknesses you humans have. Though, the Maximals have compassion and other sorts of feelings like humans, even they do not have all the weaknesses of humans."

"I know," she agreed, nodding. "But even so, you all seem to have some of the same qualities of us humans. You want power, you wanted to be treated with respect. You love. You hate. You feel bad when one of your own is killed." she gave him a knowing look. "You are unlike humans yet just like that."

"Bah," he turned away from her, brushing her words off. "I am nothing like you humans or the sentimental Maximals."

"So when you thought I was dead you didn't care?" she questioned, stepping closer and putting her hand on his leg. "You can't lie to me. If you didn't care you wouldn't have tried to save me."

"I only saved you because you are my responsibility," he told her, not looking at her. "It had nothing to do with feelings."

Yuem didn't beleive that in the least. She'd been around him long enough to know when he was lying. "So I guess Predacons are more like machines than Maximals?" she said.

He glared at her, not liking her assumption at all. "Do not talk about things you know nothing about," he ordered. "It is best if you just think about things that concern you."

Yume looked into the sky just then. "You mean like that?" she asked, pointing into the sky.

"Huh?" Dinobot looked into the sky. It wasn't hard for him to spot Terrorsaur, in robot mode, flying toward them. "Terrorsaur!" he growled. "Where did he come from?"

"I don't know," she replied, staring at the red Predacon. "Maybe he's been following us?"

The raptor wasn't sure about that. If Terrorsaur had been following them he would have attacked them ealier. "I think he was looking for us," Dinobot said, looking down at the girl. "It does not matter now. Go find some placed to hide and I will deal with him."

Yume nodded and ran toward some rocks a short distance away.

Terrorsaur flew over Dinobot, who shot at him with his eyes lazers, and made a bee line for Yume. Yume had almost reached the rocks when Terrorsaur dived toward her and plucked her off the ground. She screamed as she was taken into the air.

"Yume!" Dinobt shouted, running toward the Predacon.

Terrorsaur looked over his shoulder and spotted Dinobot. He laughed at the raptor and raised his gun, aiming it at Dinobot.

"Look out!" Yume screamed as Terrorsaur fired.

Too late. The bolt hit the ground in front of Dinobot and blew up, sending Dinobot flying backward. He landed on his back as rocks fell around him. He raised an arm to shield himself, glaring hatefully at Terrorsaur, his fangs bared. Terrorsaur saw the look and fired again. The ground in front of Dinobot blew up and he was once again sent flying.

Yume gasped and closed her eyes, not wanting to see the raptor get squashed.

Terrorsaur laughed again and flew off, carrying the girl in his arms.

Dinobot slowly got up, grabbing his side which had gotten hit by a sharp stone, and looked toward the Predacon in the sky. He was a good distance away but Dinobot tried to shoot at him anyway. He got about two shots off when he remembered that Terrorsaur had Yume. If Dinobot did hurt Terrorsaur Yume would fall and get killed.

Dinobot growled in anger. Once again he'd lost that infernal female. Well he wasn't about to let Terrorsaur get away with her. He quickly went into beast mode and ran after the Predacon and his captive.

00000

"Let me go, you prehistoic turkey!" Yume screamed, struggling in Terrorsaur's grasp.

"You want me let you go?" he said, looking down at her. "Fine." He let her drop.

Yume fell toward the ground, screaming, the world spinning before her eyes. Just before she would have hit the ground Terrorsaur swooped down and grabbed her just inches from the ground. Yume watched the ground fall away from her, trying to get over her near death experience and trying to get her heard back into her chest.

"Now," Terrorsaur said, looking down at her. "Do you still want me to let you go?"

She shook her head.

"I didn't think so."

Yume said nothing and Terrorsaur just kept on flying.

The girl soon realized Terrorsaur wasn't heading back to the Predacon base. In fact he didn't even seem to be going anywhere near that area. _Where is he taking me? _she wondered. _and what is he going to do with me when we get there? _She started hoping Dinobot would come and rescue her again... until another thought came to mind. The raptor's reprimands.

_"I am always saving you! You're more trouble than you are worth! Why can you not try to defend yourself for once?"_

_I __**can**__ defend myself, _she thought, she gripped the strap of her backpack. _I know I can!_

A few minutes later Terrorsaur landed on a cliff near a mountain formation. When his feet touched the ground he let the girl go. She plopped onto the ground and let out a yelp.

"Now," Terrorsaur said, leaning over the girl. "let's find out why everyone is making such a big deal over you."

"I don't know," she told him, pushing herself up. She looked over her shoulder at him. "But whatever the reason; it's got you interested in it."

He grabbed her arm and yanked her to her feet, not liking her tone. "I don't know why Megatron wants you so badly," he said, giving her a once over. "All you've given him so far is trouble. If _I _was the leader I would have destroyed you by now. What is a human doing here anyway? How could you have even gotten here?" A thought came to him. "Unless." he let her go and stared off into space thoughtfully. "Unless this means..." He lifted the girl off the ground and looked her in the eyes. "Unless this means that this is Earth and that's why you're here."

_Earth? This can't be Earth... _"I don't know," she told him.

"Of _course_ you don't," he said, letting her go. "You're not smart enough to figure out such things." he folded his arms and grinned. "If this is Earth then that means that the past can still be altered enough to change the future."

"What does that have to do with me?" she asked.

"If I can change the past then you won't exist anymore," he told her. "Nothing from the future will exist the way it does anymore." he pointed at her. "And since you have the Golden Disc I can do just that, right now."

Yume stepped away from him. "No," she said. "I'm not giving it to you."

"You don't have a choice," he said, stepped toward her threateningly. "Now hand it over before I do something you'll regret."

She looked him in the eye, taking a few more steps back as she pulled off her backpack. She held the pack against her chest, not wanting to give it to him.

Terrorsaur stepped toward her impatiently. "Give me the Disc!" he ordered.

"You want it," she said, looking him in the eyes again. "Then here it is!" Without warning she swung the pack at his head.

Yume heard a metallic clang as the pack came in contact with Terrorsaur's head. The Predacon flyer swauked in pain and grabbed his head as noise echoed through it. The girl took advantage of his pain to turn and run.

"Why you no good flesh creature!" he growled, getting over his pain and glaring at her retreating figure. He went into beast mode and flew after her. "When I catch up with you you're going to wish you were still in Tarantulas lair!"

Yume hugged her backpack to her chest as she ran and only glanced over her shoulder once to see Terrorsaur coming after her. She returned her attention to where she was going and quicked her speed, hoping against hope that he wouldn't be able to grab her. She saw a pile of rocks ahead and dived toward them. She landed behind them just as Terrorsaur swooped down and tried to grab her. He flew into the rocks. Yume heard the clanging sound of impact and peeked around the rock. She saw the Predacon on the ground with a big dent in his head and his tongue sticking out. She figured he wouldn't be coming around anytime soon. She grabbed her backpack and started running, not wanting to stick around until he regained his senses.

* * *

"Royalty," Inferno said, peeking into Megatron's room.

Megatron turned from the computer he'd been working at and looked at the fire ant. "Inferno," he said. "I see you have returned, yess." He got out of his chair and walked toward his lacky. He spotted Tarantulas in Inferno's grasp. The scientist was trying to get away but couldn't free himself. "I see you also found the spider, yess."

Inferno yerked Tarantulas around toward Megatron and poked his gun into the spider's back. Tarantulas swallowed hard and faced the Predacon leader. "I..can explain," he said in a low voice.

"Then do so," Megatron said. "I don't know what possessed you to kidnap the girl from me but whatever the reason it had better be good. I don't have time for your foolish acts of trechory, no. Not while things are at stake."

"What kind of things?" Tarantulas asked, his cunning yellow eyes looking into Megatron's.

"That is none of your concern, no," Megatron informed him. "The only thing you need to worry about now is what I'm going to do with you after I get whatever useful information I can out of you."

"If you're thinking I learned something about the girl you will be horribly disappointed," Tarantulas told him then had a giggling fit.

Megatron frowned down at the laughing arachnid. "I don't believe that."

"Well it's true," the spider said. "Before I could learn anything about her, Dinobot came and played the hero." he shrugged and laughed again, this time nervously. "The only thing I learned was that humans aren't worth the millions of years it took to civilize them."

"_I_ could have told you that!" Megatron shouted, grabbing Tarantulas by the throat. "Humans are more trouble than they're worth but they're also clever."

"Clever?"

"Yes, clever enough to survive this long and steal the Golden Disc right from under our noses," Megatorn stewed for a moment then said. "I think it's about time we got to the heart of the matter, yess."

"What do you mean, Royalty?" Inferno wanted to know, loosening his grip on the spider.

"I think I'll place a little call to Primal," Megatron replied, his mind already coming up with a plan. "I'll tell him I have the girl and if he doesn't do exactly as I say he'll never see her or Dinobot again."

"But you don't have either," Tarantulas pointed out.

Megatron looked at the spider as if he was stupid. "He doesn't know that, no."

* * *

Terrorsaur regained his senses sometime after Yume was a good distance away and returned to robot mode, holding his battered head. "Ow," he moaned, slowly getting to his feet. "What hit me?" he stared at the rock a moment and everything came back to him. His anger returned and he clenched a fist. 'That girl!" he growled. "She's not going to get away with this." He got a running start and shot into the air.

_When I find that girl she's going to regret ever crossing me!_

* * *

Yume stumbled down the mountain side, trying to keep her footing but finding it hard to go on constantly shifting ground. Terrorsaur had chosen a great place to drop her off because she couldn't get down easily and if she made one wrong move she'd fall to her death. _This is bad, _she thought, bracing herself against the stones around her feet. _If I fall here I'm as good as dead and there's nothing between me and the ground below to slow me down if I slip. It's all just a straight drop. _ She looked back the way she came. _I just hope that crazy bird hasn't come to yet. If he has..._

She didn't want to think about it. She'd angered him and she knew that when he did come to he'd come after her and try to kill her. That thought brought her no comfort at all. She shook it out of her head and once again continued down the slope.

She hadn't gotten much farther when she heard a "Raaaaark!" from above. Gasping she looked up at the sky. It wasn't hard to spot Terrorsaur. "Oh no..."

The Predacon flyer spotted her as well and hovered in one spot for a moment. She locked eyes with him and saw murder and hate in them. Before she could move he opened fire on her. A blaster bolt hit the ground at her feet and exploded.

With a scream she was sent tumbling into space!

_A/N_

_When I make the sequal I am so going to have both Dinobots in it. I just have to come up with a reason why Megatron would want to clone Dinobot this time without the real Dinobot keeling over. hehehehe. Terrorsaur makes me think of Starscream, Kinda sounds like him too. I just wish Terrorsaur's beast mode wasnt' so ugly! Lol. At a few points in here I almost called Terrorsaur Starscream but I caught myself before I did. XD_


	18. Chapter 18

CHAPTER 18

Yume couldn't believe her rotten luck. She'd survived this misadventure this far only to die by being blown off a cliff. This just wasn't her day. _Why did this have to happen to me?_

Seconds before she hit the ground, something white came flying out of nowhere and grabbed her by the collar of her shirt. She heard the sound of metal shifting around and felt two arms slide under her. She looked up and stared into a mint green face with red eyes. She stared at the face, her mouth hanging wide open in shock and confusion.

_Who is this? _

Her rescuer landed on the ground and set her down gently. "Are you all right?" a peaceful sounding voice ask.

"I- I think so," she replied, looking back at that green face. She noticed it looked strangely cat-like. "Who.. what..."

"Don't worry," he said, smiling at her. "I'm not an enemy."

They both heard a shrieking sound and looked back into the sky. Terrorsaur was flying toward them, his pale face full of anger.

"Yume, hide," the green faced robot ordered, pulling out a gun. "I'll take care of the Predacon."

The dark haired girl hesitated. "How do you know my name?" she asked.

Terrorsaur shot at them and the green faced robot pushed Yume out of the way. "I'll explain later," he said. "Just get out of his range."

Yume didn't have to be told twice. She started running, the sound of gunfire echoing behind her. She quickly dived behind a rock and peeked out to watch the fight. The green faced robot that was covered in black and white striped metal with soem green here and there was holding his own against Terrorsaur who was in the sky shooting at the Maximal with his gun. It wasn't long before he was joined by a blue and yellow with black spots robot who started shooting at the Predacon as well.

_Cheetor! _Yume thought. _What's he doing here?_

An accurate shot from the white and green robots gun sent Terrorsaur flying. He squaked in angony as he shot back the way he'd come.

When he was gone the two robots put their guns away and headed over to where Yume was hiding behind the rock. She stepped out of her hiding place and ran up to them, throwing her arms around Cheetor and giving him a hug. "I'm so glad to see you!" she exclaimed almost in tears as her relief showed in her voice.

"Umm we're glad to see you too," Cheetor said blushing.

Yume let him go and turned to the other robot. "Thank you for saving my life," she said with a little more caution. She didn't know this one so she wasn't sure how'd he'd react to her hugging him.

"You're welcome," he said, smiling at her. "You must be the human I heard about." he held out his hand. "I'm Tigatron. I'm pleased to finally meet you."

"Uh...right," she said, putting her hand in his and letting him shake it. "I'm Yume."

"Where's Dinobot?" cheetor asked, looking around.

"I don't know," she replied. "Terrorsaur kidnapped me and shot Dinobot. The last time I saw him he was being buried under a pile of rocks. I don't know if he's still alive or not."

"Can you take us to where he was damaged?" Tigatron asked, looking ready to start moving.

Yume wasn't sure she remembered the way, Terrorsaur he'd flown too high for her to memorize any specific details. "I'll try," she started, starting to head the way she thought would take them there. "Follow me."

They hadn't gotten very far when Dinobot came crashing through the brush growing around the area. When she spotted the girl he stared at her. "You!" he exclaimed running up to her. "Are you all right?" he looked concerned.

"Yes," she replied, pointing at the two cat bots. "Cheetor and Tigatron saved me from Terrorsaur."

Dinobot looked at the Maximals. "When did you get here?" he asked, sounding surprised.

"About ten minutes ago," Cheetor replied. "If we'd been here any later Yume would be dead."

The raptor looked at him funny. "What do you mean?" he questioned.

"Terrorsaur threw Yume off a cliff," Tigatron replied, stepping forward. "I had to grab her to save her life."

Dinobot growled. "Where is Terrorsaur?" he demanded.

Cheetor shrugged. "Gone," he replied. "Tigatron shot him and he went flying. I don't know where he went."

Dinobot went into robot mode, not really looking satisfied with the answer he got. "What I would like to know is why Terrorsaur tried to kill you," Cheetor said, looking at the girl. "and why he kidnapped you."

"I'm not sure why he kidnapped me," she told them. "Whatever the reason it had nothing to do with whatever Megatron wanted me for. "

"Why did he try to kill you?"

'Because I hit him in the face with the Golden Disc," she replied.

The three robots stared at her. "What?" she asked, not getting why they were gaping.

"You hit him in the face with the _Golden Disc_?" Cheetor asked.

"Well it was in my backpack so tecnically I hit him with that," she replied, still not understanding. "Why?"

The three Maximals all looked at each other.

"Where did you come from anyway?" Dinobot asked them. "Why are you out here?"

"We were looking for you guys," Cheetor replied. "When we found you were missing yesterday morning Optimus sent us out to look for you." his face turned to relief. "I'm glad we finally did. We've been looking everywhere for you." he cocked his head, eyeing Dinobot. "So what happened anyway?"

"Megatron wanted the girl for some reason," Dinobot replied. "So he sent two of his warriors to take her. When we went outside to do some business they took us."

"Us?"

Dinobot glared at him. "You do not think I spent two days chasing them do you?" he demanded, pointing at his damage. "I can assure you this did not come from sneeking around like a vermin!"

Cheetor took a step away from the raptor, his hand raised. "Whoa! Sorry, no offence intended," he said. "What's got your gears rusted?"

Dinobot gave no answer. He sighed in annoyance and turned away from them, walking a short distance away to brood. Cheetor watched him go then looked at Yume. "What's with him?" he asked. her.

The girl wasn't sure but she had a small idea. She gave him a look. "I don't think it's a good idea to ask about it," she replied.

"Huh? Why not?" Cheetor was confused.

"Don't let it bother you, little cat," Tigatron advised, setting his gun to recharge. "I think it's personal."

Cheetor said nothing but his confusion didn't go away. For some reason it seemed the tiger and the human girl knew exactly what was wrong. _So why can't they tell me? _he wondered.

* * *

Optimus Primal stared blank faced at Megatron. The Predacon had just told him that he had Dinobot and Yume as his prisoners. Optimus wasn't sure how to react or sure if he could believe him. If Megatron really _did _have them as his prisoners wouldn't he had done this sooner? Especially if he was the one responsible for their disappearances in the first place? Why would he wait until two days later to say something? Something wasn't right here.

"How can I be sure you're telling the truth, Megatron?" Optimus asked, leaning toward the computer screen. "How can I be sure you're not making this up?"

"Why would I lie about something like this?" the Predacon wanted to know.

"I don't know," Optimus replied, folding his arms.

"I can assure you I'm not lying, no."

"Okay, prove it."

"Excuse me?" Megatron said, looking a little nervous.

"Prove it," Primal said again. "Show me proof that they are at you base."

Megatron said nothing for about two minutes. He seemed to be stewing about something. Suddenly he cut the connection. Primal stared at the blank screen for a moment then smirked. _I knew he was lying._

But now he knew something about Megatron. The Predacon had either had them at one point and they got away from him and he was looking for them and telling Primal he had them to keep him from looking for them or he was just making things up. Optimus knew it was probably the former. Megatron wasn't dumb enough to make something like that up. "So we're not the only ones looking for them," he said, thoughtfully. "That means that us finding them first is top priority." He stood up. "Well we can't let him have them. No"

* * *

"Scorponok!"

The Predacon second in command poked his head into Megatron's room. "Yes, Megatron?" he said.

"I want you, Waspinator and Blackarachnia to find that girl and Dinobot," he said angrily, getting out of his chair. "On second thought, I'll go with you to make sure you do it right."

Scorponok stepped aside to let Megatron pass. He wanted to say something to his leader but he couldn't think of anything to say. Instead he asked. "Where do you want to start looking?" he wanted to know, following Megatron down the hall. "They could be _anywhere_ by now."

"I_ know _that," Megs said annoyed, looking over his shoulder at the smaller robot. He clenched a fist and ground his teeth. "None of this would have ever happened if Tarantulas hadn't decided to kidnap the girl and perform experiments on her."

Scorponok couldn't argue with that. This whole thing was Tarantulas' fault but it was also Terrorsaur's. If Terrorsaur hadn't of spotted the girl in the first place none of this would have happened and the girl would still be totally unknown to both side right nows. Lost. Alone. Dead even. And speaking of Terrorsaur, where in Primus was he?

* * *

At the moment Terrorsaur, still in robot mode, was hanging from a tree branch where he'd landed after being blasted by Tigatron's and Cheetor's guns. "Ugh," he moaned sitting up. "Stupid Maximals." he put his hand over the damage and slowly slid up the tree trunk until he was standing. "Why did they have to come along and ruin everything?"

He growled and went into beast mode. "They'll pay for that!" he shouted as he flew off.

* * *

Yume found she could make fast friends with the Maximal named Tigatron. He was very friendly and seemed to connect with her easily. She found she enjoyed being around him, feeling at ease with one of them at first impression for the very first time. She felt there was no need to be scared of him at all.

"So you're from the future?" he asked.

She nodded. "Yes," she replied. "Why?" the girl and the three Maximals were sitting on the ground, resting up for awhile before they decided to head back to the _Axalon_. Tigatron seemed very interested in her and for some reason this interest made Dinobot scowl at him in a strange way. She wasn't sure why and wasn't about to ask.

Tigatron answered her question with one of his own. "Have you ever met a transformer named Optimus Prime?"

She blinked at him and shook her head. "No," she replied. "I can't say I have." she gave him a curious looked. "Why?"  
Tigatron shrugged it off. "Nothing," he said. "I was just wondering."

She wanted to push him but didn't. The name he'd said sounded familiar somehow but she couldn't place it. She might have drempt about someone with that name but she couldn't be sure.

Dinobot didn't seem happy about the conversation and didn't want to be part of it. He got up and walked away.

"Dinobot?" Yume said, watching him go. He ignored her. She looked at the two cats. "What's wrong with him?"

Cheetor and Tigatron looked at each other and shook their heads. They had no idea. "It might have something to do with the conversation," Cheetor suggested. "What year did you come from anyway? I never got a chance to ask you before."

"Umm... 2007," she replied.

"Oh..." Cheetor looked at Dinobot's retreating figure. "I get it now."

"What?" she asked.

"That's two years after the end of the Great War," the cheetah replied. "If this _is_ Earth _and _the past, then that means you came from the time that Optimus Prime and the Autobots fought Megatron and the Decepticons."

"What?" she gasped. "But I thought Megatron-"

"Not the Megatron you met," Tigatron explained. "_This_ Megatron was the leader of the Decepticons. Near the end of the Great War he killed Optimus Prime but was damaged badly and turned into Galvatron by a planet eating monster named Unicron."

"Unicron?" she said. "Galvatron?" She had no idea what they were talking about. "But then who's _this _Megatron?"

"Someone who took on that name," Cheetor replied, sounding disgusted at the fact that someone would want to be named after a tyrant. "_This_ Megatron stole the Golden Disc that was created by the Great War Megatron. We're not sure what he wants to use it for yet but we have an idea."

"Golden Disc?" she said, taking it out of her backpack. "You mean this thing?"

The two cat bots stared at it. "Yes," they replied. "How did you get it from the Predacons anyway?"

"Well," she began. "I got lost trying to get out of the Predacon base after I escaped for their dungeon and kind of found it by accident. I took it with me when Dinobot and I escaped."

Tigatron took the disc from her and stared at his reflection. "It's good to have it back," he said. "I'm glad you were able to get it."

"I am too," she replied, staring at her own reflection in the back. "I don't understand why he was going to use it to change the future but-"

The two cats stared at her in horror.

"What?" she asked.

"He was going to use it to change the _future_?" Cheetor asked.

"Yes, that's what Dinobot said anyway," she answered, not sure why they were acting strange. Didn't they know? "Why?"

"If that was Megatron's plan all along it's a good thing you _did_ steal that disc," Cheetor said. "We don't need him messing with the time flow."

Yume looked at the cat bots and then the disc. _So Dinobot _wasn't_ lying and, if that is what Megatron is trying to do and this is earth _and_ the past, then that means if he messes with the time flow for them he could do the same for my timeline as well. _She did not like that thought at all.

"Is that why Dinobot got upset about you asking if I met Optimus Prime?" she asked.

"Dinobot doesn't like hearing about the war," Cheetor explained. "He'd rather not be reminded of that point in history."

"I see," the girl said, remembering what he'd told her back at the Predacon base. "Well I won't judge him. He had no part in the war you mentioned and even if he did..." her voice trailed off.

The two Maximals looked at her.

She stood up. "I... I'm going for a walk."

Before Tigatron or Cheetor could say a word she walked off.

The two watched her go then looked at each other. "She went the same way Dinobot had gone," Tigatron said.

Cheetor stared at her shrinking figure. "I wonder what she's going to say to him?" he said himself out loud.

Tigatron couldn't even begin to think of an answer.

* * *

"So _that's_ it," Yume said as she walked away from the Maximal cat bots. "This whole thing has to do with who lost the Great War. Why should it matter who won or lost? Why would they want to change it? Is their life_ that _bad?" a thought came to her. "Dinobot _did _say that he's treated like a second class citizen and I feel bad for him but, what if the Decepticons _had _won? How would they have treated the remaining Autobots? Would they have even let them live? Would they have killed them?" she remembered how Megatron and the other Predacons acted toward the Maximals. "They would have acted worse." she realized. "All the Autobots would be dead. The Maximals wouldn't have ever been created. At least the Maximals or Autobots let the Predacons/Decepticons live on Cybertron and not kill them..." she sighed. "If the Decepticons had won would I even be alive? Would Dinobot be the same as he is now? Would he be worse? Would he be a hearless killer who cared nothing for sentiant beings that weren't part of his race?"

She stopped in her tracks and pulled out her sketch pad, going to a picture she'd been working on the night before when Dinobot had fallen asleep. It was of the former Predacon, in robot mode, and in a relaxed stance. The picture wasn't complete but she'd managed to get most of Dinobot's head and face done. His expression was peaceful and with just a hint of a smile on it. It held no signs of the hardness that graced his features, no signs of the worry and abuse he'd gone through. a Predacon at peace. A Predacon who'd finally found the place he belonged. She'd been planning on giving it to him when she was done with it. Now she hugged the sketch to herself, not sure how she should be feeling. "Would we even have met?" she asked herself in a whisper. "Would the evens of my time and his be different? Would the Maximals have gone into the past to change events? Would there even be Maximals?" She lifted her head and spotted Dinobot ahead, his back to the girl and the two cat robots further back. "Would there even_ be _a Dinobot?"

She started walking toward him again, putting the sketch back into her back pack.

Dinobot sensed her coming before she even said a word. "Do you still think we're like you humans?" he asked.

Yume stopped in her tracks and stared at the back of the raptor's head. "What?" she asked.

"The decepticons werte a heartless race," he explained. "The death of one of their own was nothing to them. If one died, they could just make another to replace him or her." he sighed. "the Megatron of that time, your time, killed his own soldier, Starscream, without even batting an eye..."

"Starscream?" she said, thoughtfully. Suddenly she exclaimed. "I have heard of him."

He looked back at her. "You have?" he asked. He looked curious.

She nodded. "Starscream was a traitor. He wanted to lead something and when he got that power he was killed." She shook her head. "I'm sorry. That's all I know."

"How do you know even_ that _much?" he wanted to know.

She shook her head. "I don't remember who told me," she replied. "Maybe I drempt it."

Dinobot looked like he wanted to ask her what she meant by that but thought better of it. He wasn't really sure he_ cared_.

"You're not like them," she said, changing the subject. "You're better than your ancestors, more human in your thoughts and feelings. Less like machines.. I don't care _what_ they did or are doing in my time! I won't judge you for what they've done. I told you that already. You weren't around then. "

"But what if I was?"

"You weren't," she reminded him.

"But what if I was?" he asked again.

She stopped. How would she have acted toward him if he had? She didn't know. She didn't _want_ to know. "I don't hate anyone," she said, slowly. "And I won't hate you. Why are you trying to make me?"

"I am not," he said, turning toward her, annoyed. "I am just asking you a question. If you cannot tell me the truth than you are no better than the Maximals on Cybertron."

"Don't _compare_ me to them!" she ordered, clenching her fists, angered by his tone. "I am _nothing_ like them and you_ know _it! Why are you doing this? Why are you suddenly asking me this? Does it have something to do with them?" she pointed back toward the cat bots. "Does it have something to do with what they said? With how Tigatron is treating me? Are you angry? Are you jealous? Do you feel dishonored because you couldn't protect me? Do you hate me?"

"No!" he cut her off. "I am none of those things you mentioned?"

"Then what is wrong?"

"I-" he cut himself off and turned away. "I cannot tell you."

"Why?'' she asked, stepping toward him. "Why can't you tell me? I thought we were_ friends_!"

"We are not friends," he informed her. "We never were."

She stopped cold. For some reason his words hurt her. After all the time they spent together she thought for sure that they'd become friends. That he thought of her as more than just something he was being forced to guard. _I guess I was wrong, _she thought. "I was wrong," she said out loud.

"About what?" he asked, looking back at her.

She looked up at him with tears burning her eyes. "You are_ just _like them!" she said. "Just like them!" Then she ran off.

"yume!" he called after her.

She ignored him and kept on running. She disappeared into the brush. He stared at the spot, unmoving. "Yume..." he said.

_A/N_

_Yume should never think about hard subjects. She is very emotional and doesn't like losing firends. That's happened to her enough. _

_Someone pointed something out to me that I never even thought about. She got taken into the past and, since the planet is earth that the ARK fell on, then wouldn't she have heard of the Autobots before hand? I didn't even think about this when I first wrote the story (nor had I watched G1 when I started it) I knew hardly anything about the show other thans they got Cosmic Rust and drunk on Energon. So yeah, the thought didn't even cross my mind. Now that I think about it, well it's 2007 in her time so that means the Great War is over, Megatron is Galvatron, and Optimus Prime was brought back to life and Rodimus isn't the boss anymore. So to put aside anymore questions; she might have heard about the Autobots and Decepticons but the timeline is nothing like the G1 universe for 2007. It's like the 2007 movie universe, sorta, so people wear normal clothing, don't own flying cars, and Cobra Commander didn't turn anybody into humans. XD Okay that's about all I'll say on that subject. XD_


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

A few seconds later Tigatron and Cheetor came running up from behind him. "What happened?" Cheetor asked, looking around himself for the girl. "Where's Yume?"

Dinobot looked at the two cat Maximals with a strange look in his eyes. "She," he began, looking back toward the brush. "she ran away."

"She ran away!?" Cheetor exclaimed, horrified. "Why'd you let her run away!? Why didn't you stop her?"

The raptor glared at the cheetah. "Would it have done any good?" he demanded.

Cheetor took a step back, surprised by the tone the Ex-Predacon had used. "Whoa! What was _that _about?" he asked.

Dinobot growled but didn't reply. Before the two knew what was happening or tried to stop him, Dinobot said. "I am going after her." and ran after the girl.

When he was gone they looked at each other. "What's with him?" Cheetor asked.

"I don't know," Tigatron said. "But we must find the girl. She can't he allowed to run around unguarded."

Cheetore nodded and the cats went into beast mode. They ran the same way Dinbot had gone.

* * *

Finding Yume this time was much easier than any other time before. The girl had not gone very far and Dinobot found her slumped against a tree, her hand on the trunk to balance herself. She had her head down so he wasn't sure if she was crying or throwing up. He just hoped it was the former. Either way; he had to talk to her. He had to correct her about something.

Stepping up to her, he reached out and put a hand on her shoulder. Her body stiffened and she instantly turned around, fear on her face. When she saw him she calmed down. "Oh," she said, looking at her feet. "It's just you."

He frowned at her tone but didn't comment on it. Instead he said. "You need to stop doing that."

"Doing what?" she asked.

"Running off," he answered as if the answer was obvious. "It is not worth it. You could run into trouble doing that."

"What do _you _care?" she questioned stepping back and giving him a look of agitation before she looked away again. "Why _should _you care?"

Dinobot was getting sick of the way she acted. He couldn't take it anymore. He was going to lay it down for her right here and right now. "Look at me," he growled, grabbing her face and making her look into his red eyes. "You have no right to assume such things about me. You have no right to compare me with the Decepticons. The reason I asked you that question before is because I wanted to know how you would feel if I_ had _been."

"But why would you ask such a thing?" she wanted to know.

"Because I wanted to know what you thought of such things," he replied, shrugging. "I wanted an honest answer. Not a watered down answer that would just make me feel better. I do not need anymore of those." he frowned. "I want you to give me a human answer."

"I told you I didn't care," she answered. "What else did you want me to say?"

"Something that is not a lie," he replied, letting her go. "I heard you tell Rattrap that you hated me."

"Yes, I said that," she replied. "But that was _before_ I got to know you. I don't hate you anymore. I'm still a little bit afraid of you but I don't hate you." she looked at her feet. "I thought, since you were opening up to me and not trying to scare me anymore, that we were becoming friends. I thought I'd made a friend."

"I do not make friends," he told her. "Nobody is my friend. I have comrades but _not_ friends."

She looked up at him. "So, nobody is your friend?" she asked.

He shook his head. "No."

"Oh." she said then smiled. "Then I shall have the honor of being your first."

He stared at her. "_What?"_

"I don't care what you say," she said, walking up to him and putting a hand on his arm. "I'm going to be your friend."

He frowned. He wasn't sure what to say. He wanted to discourage her but knew she wasn't going to change her mind. "Do what you wish," he said, turning away from her. "but we must return to the others." he looked over his shoulder and frowned. "and do not ever do this sort of thing again."

She gave him a confused look. "What sorta of thing?"

"Running off!" he shouted, making her step back. "Nobody wants it and you do not need to cause more trouble for yourself or anyone else."

"Oh," she said. "I'm sorry."

"And stop doing that!" he yelled. "Didn't I tell you to quit apologizing for everything."

"I'm Sor- okay," she said.

He calmed down. "By the way," he said.

"Huh?" she asked, curiously.

"I do not mind if you want to be my friend," he said, looking at her with a slight smile. "Just do not tell the others."

"I promise," she said.

* * *

Rhinox watched the power cells on the time travel device as they began to recharge. For awhile he'd thought the device would_ never _regain its power and the girl would be stuck there forever with no chance of going home, but now that the device was recharging it seemed like it wasn't going to stop until it was at full power.

_I'm glad it's charging back up, _he thought, tapping at the computer keys on the keyboard. _Now that girl can return to her own time like she wanted to. _

When the girl returned home Megatron wouldn't be able to harm her anymore. She'd return home and everything would go back to normal... the thought made him uneasy for some reason but he wasn't sure why.

"I just hope they find her."

* * *

"Why do I get the feeling Dinobot said something to her to make her run off like that?" Cheetor asked Tigatron as they headed the way the raptor had gone. "He knows she's scared of him. Do you think he took advantage of that fact?"

"I don't think so," Tigatron replied. "He seemed genuinly relieved when we found her before."

"Then why did she run off?"

"I don't know. Maybe he said something to her that upset her."

That sounded more like Dinobot but why would he want to upset the girl? He didn't even like her. "Do you think something happened between them during the time they spent together?" Cheetor asked.

Tigatron had no idea had no idea. If something had happened it was none of their business anyway. He shook his head. "Don't ask him," Tigatron told him. "He might think you're prying."

"But what if something _did _happen?"

"Then they'll probably tell us when they're ready." he stopped running and went into robot mode. "By the Matrix...," he said in a strange voice.

"Huh?" Cheetor went into robot mode as well and stared curiously as the bigger cat robot. "What is it?"

"Look," Tigatron said pointing.

Cheetor turned his head. What he saw caused him to stare. "What in Cybertron?"

The two cats were staring at Yume and Dinobot who were sitting on the ground and seemed to be having a completely civalized conversation. "Are my optics decieving me?" Cheetor asked staring.

"It doesn't seem like it," Tigatron replied, "unless mine are doing the same thing."

"So what should we do?" Cheetor asked.

Tigatron shook his head. He didn't really want to interrupt the two. For all he knew Dinobot was apologizing to Yume for whatever he'd said to upset her. This might be the only time Dinobot would do something like this. He was about to tell Cheetor this but just then Dinobot and the human girl looked up and saw them. Dinobot instantly stood up and walked away from her, his face unreadable. Yume watched him go, looking confused. It came to her when she looked back at the two cat robots. She frowned at them, got up, and walked over to them. "Why did you two have to do that?" she asked, sounding annoyed.

"Do what?" Cheetor asked, feeling jealous all of a sudden.

"Why did you have to come along when you did?" she asked, looking up at him. "He was actually opening up to me."

"Huh?" The cheetah's face was full of surprise and confusion.

She waved it off. "Never mind," she said, looking in the direction he'd gone. She saw he'd stopped walking when he got a good distance from the others and then just stood there with his back to them and his arms folded. "I think maybe it's about time you get me back to the _Axalon_. I'm afraid if we stay out here any longer the Predacons will come after us again."

"Good idea," Cheetor agreed. "We don't need to extend this run of bad luck you've been having any longer."

Yume shook her head. She really didn't want to have anymore run ins with Predacons, especially ones that wanted to kill her. She looked at Dinobot. "We're going to head to the base!" she called to him.

He sighed and turned back to them. "It is about time," he said, impatiently. "We should have gone back there the moment you found us."

"Hey, there's no need to get like that," Cheetor said, frowning at him. "Yume looked like she needed a rest from almost dying."

"She would not have almost died if I had been more alert," Dinobot muttered to himself.

"Don't blame yourself," the girl said, looking up at him. "It_ wasn't _your fault." she reached up and touched his armor. "You did the best you could."

His expression became unreadable as he brushed her off and started walking away. She turned to watch him. "Dinobot..." she said in a low voice.

"C'mon, Yume," Cheetor said, putting a hand on her shoulder and taking her out of her thoughts. "Let's go."

She nodded, looking up at him. "Okay."

* * *

Waspinator and Inferno happened to be the only flyers at the base at the moment, because Terrorsaur was currently absent, so Megatron sent them ahead as he and the others left the base, except for Tarantulas who was currently locked in a cell for the time being until he learned his lesson or pretended to... or got out on his own.

Waspinator prefered flying with Terrorsaur because Terrorsaur didn't get on his nerves but, since Terrorsaur was currently off doing whatever the trecherous pterasaur did when he was by himself, he'd just have to put up with the weird fire ant.

"Remember what Megatron sid," Waspinator said, flying beside the fire ant. "Megatron doezzzn't want Ant-bot to zhoot the Maximalzzzz and the fleshy-bot. Megatron just wantzzz uzzz to tell him where they are."

Inferno gave Waspinator a look of exaggerated patients. "You didn't need to tell me that," he said. "I know what the Royalty said and I don't plan on disobeying the orders." he laughed to himself. "But if I happen to see that deserter that'll be another story."

Waspinator knew Inferno was talking about Terrorsaur. He just hoped the pterasaur didn't decide to show up. That would not be a wise move.

* * *

"You know what I decided," Yume said as she and the Maximals headed back to the base.

"What?" Cheetor asked, looking down at her.

"I decided I hate camping."

"What makes you say that?"

Yume explained in as few words as possible. She really didn't want to tell him about waking up in the weird position with Dinobot curled around her so she just told him about the cold ground and biting beetles...

Cheetor laughed. "Well you won't have to worry about that soon," he said, smiling at her. "We have some nice comfortable cots at the base."

Yume made a face. "Those cots are as hard as rocks," she informed him. "I got a bruise from the one I slept on the first night I got here. I can understand that you guys might think they're comfortable. You're robots. Hard things don't bother you."

"I don't think you'll need to worry about that for very long," Tigatron said, going into beast mode. "You will probably be going back to your own time soon."

"Yeah," the girl said, looking away, her voice becoming less perky. "I know that but I'm beginning to doubt that will ever happen."

"Why do you say that?" Cheetor wanted to know.

She looked back at him. "Has the thing that brought me here regained its power yet?" she wanted to know.

"I don't know," the cheetah admitted. "The last time I talked to Rhinox it hadn't."

"What if it _never_ does?"

"I don't know."

"Exactly," she said. "For now I don't want to think about it. It just depresses me."

"And we would not want to do that," Dinobot said, walking past them.

Yume noticed the sarcastic tone in his voice and looked at him. "What?" she asked.

He waved her question off. "Just forget it."

She frowned. "If you didn't have anything important to say why did you have to do that?" she asked.

"What does it matter?" he demanded, turning and pointing at her. "You have no reason to be depressed. You are going home soon so you should be happy."

"Why are you so mad at me?" she asked him. "I didn't do anything to you."

"Forget it," he said, turning away and moving ahead. "It is no longer important."

Yume stuck her tongue out at him. _Meanie! Why do you have to do that? One minute you're a pussy cat and the next you're a mean old ogre!_

Cheetor, who did not see her stick out her tongue, put his hand on her shoulder. When she looked up at him he opened his mouth to say something but, before he could, a voice suddenly blared from nowhere. "Cheetor, come in Cheetor!"

Cheetor jumped then realized what it was. He turned on his comlink. "Coming in loud and clear, Big Bot," he said, speaking into it.

"Good," Optimus said. "that means you're not in the jamming zone. By the way, have you and Tigatron found Dinobot and the girl yet?"

"Yep," Cheetor said glancing at Yume and Dinobot who had turned around and was eyeing him curiously, "We ran into them about an hour ago. Terrorsaur was trying to kill Yume but luckily Tigatron got to her in time."

"Why was Terrorsaur trying to kill her?"

"I don't know," Cheetor replied. "I think you had better ask Yume when we get back. Only she and Dinobot know what's going on. All that I know is, is that Megatron wants her for something. "

"What?"

"I don't know. I do know he's probably after the Golden Disc she stole."

"She stole the Golden Disc from him?" Primal asked, sounding surprised.

"Yep, and you won't believe what he wanted to use it for..."

"Tell me when you get back," Optimus said. "I think it would be best if we all knew what was going on."

"Sure thing, Big Bot," Cheetor said. 'We should be back in about an hour that is if we don't run into any trouble along the way."

"I don't doubt you will," the Maximal leader said. "Megatron isn't the kind of person to give up easily. If the girl has the Golden Disc he won't stop hunting her until he has it back... and he probably won't be so nice to her this time... "

"Speaking of Predacons..." Cheetor looked up and notice Waspinator and Inferno in the air above them. "I think I just spotted trouble in the air." he raised his gun and shot at them. The two Predacons dodged the shot and turned toward him. Inferno started firing back. "We're under attack. I'll talk to you later!"

* * *

"What izzzzz Ant-bot _doing_?!" Waspinator exclaimed when Inferno shot off a fireball. "Megatron zzzaid not to attack!"

Inferno glared at him. "THEY SHOT AT ME FIRST!" he shouted then dodged a shot from Dinobot's eye lazers. "FOR THE ROYALTY!" he screamed before he sent a rain of flames at the ground from his hellgun.

* * *

Yume screamed and jumped out of the way of the way of Inferno's wall of flames. "Cheetor!" she exclaimed, running out of range. "Why did you have to shoot at them?!"

"Sorry," he said, shooting at the Predacons and seeming to enjoy the battle he'd started. "I was just trying to get off a few shots before they opened fire on us."

She was about to correct him about that but chose not too. She was too busy dodging Inferno's firepower to say anything anyway.

* * *

Waspinator decided to let Megatron know where the Maximal's were before Inferno insinerated them. "Megatron," he said ino his comlink.

"Yes?" came Megatron's slightly impatient reply.

"Waspinator and Ant-Bot has found Lizard-bot and the Fleshy-bot," he said, dodging a shot from Tigatron. "Waspinator thinks Megatron had better get here before Ant-bot destroys them."

"WHAT?!" Megatron exclaimed his voice rising in anger. "Why is he _shooting _at them?"

"Well spotted Cat-Bot shot at Ant-Bot so Ant-Bot shot back."

"Spotted cat-? What is _Cheetor _doing there?"

"Eeek! Wazzpinator doesn't know," the wasp answered, avoiding another shot. "Wazzpinator only telling Megatron what Ant-Bot did."

Megatron sighed with annoyance. "I'll be right there," he said. "Send me the co-ordinance."

* * *

Terrorsaur had finally found the girl that had made a fool out of him. He was about ready to dive down and grab her off the ground and teach her a lesson she'd never forget when he noticed she seemed to be getting shot at. Well he really didn't want anything to happen to her, not now anyway, unless he was doing it to her, so her dying wouldn't be acceptable. He turned his head and spotted the one doing the shooting. That crazed fire ant Inferno. He was shooting flames out of his hellgun and seemed to be enjoying himself.

"No! Stop that!" Terrorsaur screamed flying into the fray and grabbing Inferno's arm to stop him from firing. "What in the _Pit _are you doing?!"

"Let go of my gun!" Inferno ordered, wrenching his weapon away. He noticed who'd grabbed his rifle. "You!" he exclaimed, pointing a finger at the other red Predacon. "So you've_ finally _returned, deserter of the colony. I'll deal with you after I've dealt with the Maximals and the traitor."

"That's the point!" Terrorsaur shouted, grabbing the gun again. "You can't keep on shooting at them! You'll hit the human!"

Inferno looked right at Terrorsaur. "So?"

"MEGATRON WANTS HER ALIVE AND SO DO I!" Terrorsaur shrieked.

Inferno stared at him. "Why do you want her alive?" he asked.

"I well... " he stuttered, putting up his hands. "It's not important. What is important is that you don't kill her and you don't burn anyone!"

"Why not?!"

"Because I said so!"

Inferno's pointed finger lingered only inches from Terrorsaur's nose. His large red eyes burned into Terrorsaur's. _"You_ don't order me around!"

"I do when it comes to this!"

"Wazzpintor things Ant-Bot and Dinosaur-bot should stop fighting," Waspinator said, butting in.

"Shut up!" the other two yelled at him.

Waspinator moved away from them, intimidated by the fierceness in their voices. "Wazzzpinator izz zzzzorry..."

Meanwhile, on the ground, Cheetor and the other two Maximals watched the Predacons arguing. They'd totally forgetten about the Maximal's below them. Cheetor looked at the others and shrugged. Dinobot focused on Terrorsaur and shot him with his eye lasers.

The bird Predacon squawked in pain then glared down at Dinobot. "How dare you shoot me!" he shouted, then raised his own gun and shot at Dinobot.

Inferno watched him do this with a smirk. "Who's disobeying orders now?" he asked, smuggly.

"SHUT UP!"

Inferno burst into mocking laughter.

Terrosaur glared at him. "Just shut up and fire!" he shouted then glared at Waspinator. "And you too!"

Waspinator went into robot mode and started shooting. "Megatron zzzaid for us not to zzzhoot," he muttered.

_A/N_

_Weird way to end a chapter but I couldn't think of anything else..._

_This chapter took me forever to write. I think my inspirtation is dying. I hate being twenty! It ruins everything. I __**will**__ finish this. I promise! I noticed something about Dinobot in this story. For some reason I'm making him act like Kyo from the Fruit's Basket manga. Is that a bad thing? Sorry they're a little out of character. I was trying to lighten up the mood. _


	20. Chapter 20

CHAPTER 20

Yume had to hide behind some rocks to avoid being shot by the Predacon firepower, she'd also gotten out of the way because Dinobot had yelled at her to do so. She peeked over the top to watch the fight. She noticed then that most of the robots on both sides seemed to have terrible aim. That would have been funny if they weren't fighting and she would probably laugh about it later, but right now it wasn't very important. If the Predacons won she'd be taken back to the _Darkside_ and Megatron would do who knows what to her. She wanted the Maximals to win. They _had _to win.

"Go Dinobot! Go cat bots!" she cheered, raising a fist.

Dinobot heard her cheering and looked back at her. "Yume! Stop that!" he snarled. "It is very distracting. We do not need you screaming at us! Now duck your head!"

Oops. She dropped her arm and plopped her body back behind the rock. "Sorry," she muttered. She got on her hands and knees and peeked around the side of the rock to watch them. This way would be safer and he woudln't be able to see her.

She noticed the demon with the hellgun seemed to be breaking off from the other two flying Predacons. _What's he doing? _she wondered.

A few seconds later something landed hard behind her. She jumped, startled, and looked up. Inferno stood over her, grinning like a maniac. He saw her staring up him opened mouthed and said. "Boo!" before laughing madly.

Yume screamed and got to her feet, ready to run. He grabbed her arm and kept her from going anywhere. She screamed again and tried to get loose. That proved to be impossible. He pulled her toward him and held her against his body. She struggled against his hold as he lifted off the ground and started to fly away.

Dinobot heard the girl scream again and looked back toward the rock she'd been hiding behind. He spotted Inferno trying to fly off with her and growled in anger, realizing he'd once again let her get caught by getting distracted. Out of anger he shot at the fire ant with his laser optics but the insane pyromaniac just avoided the energy.

Growling in frustration, Dinobot went into beast mode and ran toward the flying ant. He wasn't sure what he was going to do, though. Inferno could fly. _He_ couldn't. How was he going to rescue her if he couldn't get to her? He couldn't even shoot Inferno anymore because if he did he'd just make him drop the girl and that would kill her, or at least hurt her badly.

"Put me down!" Yume screamed, wiggling in the fire ant's grasp. "Let me go!"

"Silcence, human!" Inferno shouted, glaring down at her. "You will be silent!"

"I will _not!" _she screamed out of defiance and fear. "You put me down right now! I don't _want_ to go back to Megatron!"

"The Royalty demands that you be returned!" Inferno informed her. "You _will_ return."

"No!"

"Yes!"

"No!" she saw Dinobot running up to them. "Dinobot!" she screamed, looking down at him. "Help me!" She saw Inferno raise his gun when he too spotted the raptor coming toward them. "WATCH OUT!" she shrieked.

Fortunately Dinobot saw Inferno lift the weapon and jumped out of the way in time. The fireball hit the ground where he had been and exploded. Yume screamed and shielded her face as debrees went flying in every direction. When she peeked through herr fingers she saw Dinobot was all right.

But before she could breath easier at this knowledge, she saw Inferno getting ready to fire again. "no!" she screamed, reaching up and grabbing onto the gun.

"Hey!" Inferno shouted, wrestling with her for hold of his weapon. "You can't have that! Let it go at once!"

She met his gaze. "Bite me!" she snapped and yanked hard on the weapon.

Inferno, wanting to get full possession of his gun again, let the girl go to do so. When he did she fell away from him and hung onto the gun, which was the only thing keeping her from fallling to the ground and breaking something. She looked over her shoulder at the ground. All she saw was dirt and rocks below her.

Inferno noticed her fear and decided to teach her a lesson. He grabbed her by the leg and yanked her grip free from his gun. He then held her upside down above the ground. "Good bye," he said before he let her go.

Yume fell to the ground, head first, screaming at the top of her lungs. She never hit the ground, though. Dinobot, back in robot mode, caught her in his arms before she could. She opened her eyes and stared at his face in surprise. "Dinobot?" she said, sounding as if she couldn't believe she was seeing him.

"You are not dead," he informed her.

She went limp with relief. "I'm glad," she said. "No offense but you don't make a very good angel."

"... Thanks," he said, not really sure how to reply to a comment like that. "You are not much of one either."

"Hey!"

"Well it is true," he informed her.

A retort froze in her throat when her eyes locked on something behind him. "Dinobot, look out!" she exclaimed, pointing.

He looked over his shoulder and saw Inferno aiming his gun at them. The raptor jumped out of the way when the pyro fired and was able to avoid being blown apart. The fireball hit the ground and exploded, sending firt and stones flying everywhere. Dinobot sprinted out of range then dumped the girl onto the ground.She opened her mouth to compain at the rough treatment but he turned from her and, pulling out his sword, charge at Inferno.

The fire ant wasn't expecting that but was able to grab onto Dinobot's sword handle before any damage could be done. Both glared at each other, their faces only inches apart. Both, having no respect for the other, wanted to best the other at strength. Dinobot, being honorable, wasn't going to cheat. Inferno on the other hand, didn't know what the meaning of honor was, and would have shot Dinobot in the face, had he not dropped his gun when he'd grabbed onto Dinobot's sword.

* * *

Optimus Primal, getting the worst feeling that Cheetor and the others might need his help, was heading to their cordinance when Rhinox spoke into his comlimk. "Optimus, come in Optimus," Rhinox's voice crackled into his ear.

"What is it, Rhinox?" Optimus asked.

"I wanted to let you know that that time travel device that brought the girl here is at full power," his friend answered.

"That's great," Optimus said.

"Since you're going to be helping them out I thought you'd want to tell the girl when you got there," the rhino went on. "I'm sure she'll be happy to hear it."

"I think so too," Optimus said. "I'll be sure to tell her."

"Good luck."

* * *

Waspinator was having a hard time shooting and talking to Megatron at the same time. The Predacon leader had called back and was currently demanding the cordinance to the location where the three Predacons and the Maximals with the girl were. Poor Waspy was so stressed from firing, avoiding fire power, and trying to distinguise latitude from longitude that his words made no sense and sounded like a swarm of hornets after someone had disturbed their hive.  
"WILL YOU SLOW DOWN!?" Megatorn shouted into his ear. "I can't understand that infernal buzzing! No!"

'Wazzpinator izz zzorry, Megatron," the wasp said, forcing himself to speak slower. "But Wazzpinator izzz being shot at and can't talk right."

"Just tell me where you are!"

"Wazzzpinator izzz trying!"  
"Well try harder!"

Waspinator took a deep breath and tried again. Before he could get it out an accurate shot from Tigatron's gun hit him and he was sent spiraling to the ground. "SECTOR 4!" he screamed as he hit the ground, his head going into a gopher hole.

"Yeah!" Cheetor exclaimed, slapping Tigatron on the back. "Good shooting!"

"We're not finished yet, little cat," Tigatron informed him. "We still have Terrorsaur."

The two started shooting rapidly at the other Predacon. Terrorsaur squawked in irritation as he avoided the fire power. "Now you've made me angrier!" he shrieked at them

"Stufff it down your beak!" Cheetor shouted up at him.

The Predacon roared in anger and started shooting rapidly at the two cats. They quickly jumped out of the way and fired back.

Meanwhile Dinobot and Inferno were still fighting over posession of the raptor's sword. They fell over onto the ground and still kept on fighting. Both wanted that sword.

Yume watched them fighiting, not sure what to do. There wasn't really anything she _could _but she couldn't let Inferno gain possession of the sword. She nervously looked around for something to use to stop him and spotted Inferno's flame thrower lying on the ground. She ran toward it and picked it up off the ground, too determind to stop the fight to notice the weight.  
"Stop it!" she shouted, aiming the gun at them.

The two looked up at her. "Yume?" Dinobot said.

"Let go of the sword, Inferno!" she ordered, aming his own gun at his face. "Let it go or I'll be forced to use your own weapon against you!"

"Put down my weapon!" the ant shouted at her.

"I'll put it down when you let go of Dinobot's!" she shouted, forcing her arms to stay up, though the weight of the gun was slowly pulling them down. "Now let it go."

Inferno relunctantly let the sword go, his insane red eyes glaring into hers. "You willl _burn_ for this," he growled.

A few days ago that threat might have scared her but she'd been through enough by now that she was getting a bit braver. She didn't look away as Dinobot got off the ground and yanked Inferno off the ground as well, by the throat.

Suddenly Yume found herself in the jaws of a T-Rex. This wasn't something she'd expect and screamed in terror as she was lifted off the ground in the mouth of the beast. The flamethrower fell from her hands and hit the ground where she'd been standing seconds before. The head moved and she found herself staring into Megatron's face and right into his purple-pink eyes.

"Hello, my dear," the Predacon said, grinning at her.

"Megatron!" Dinobot growled, glaring at the bigger Predacon. "Let her go."

"Or you will do what?" Megatron asked, looking over at the former Predacon. "Will you kill Inferno? I think not." he showed Dinobot the girl that was in the jaws of his T-Rex head arm. "You see, I have the girl, yess. If you even_ think _of harming me or Inferno I will crush her, yess."

Hatred for the Predcaon leader showed distinctly on Dinobot's face. He wanted badly to jump onto the other Predacon and rip out his optics. He couldn't do that because he might hurt Yume. For some reason he really didn't want to harm her in any way.

"Now," Megatron said. "Let Inferno go or you can say goodbye to the human."

Dinobot wouldn't have obeyed Megatron if he'd said that a few days ago and would have let him crush the girl, but now that he'd developed a friendship with the human girl he couldn't let that happen. He grudgingly let the fire ant go. Inferno moved away from him and gathered up his gun. He stood beside his superior and aimed the gun at the raptor.

"Now," Megatorn said. "Drop your weapon."

Dinobot did so. "Now," the raptor said. "Let the girl go."

"I think not," the Predacon said, smirking. "This little lady happens to have something I want and has made a fool out of me one too many times. I can't just let her get away with that, noo."

Dinobot growled at him "Let the girl go!" he shouted.

"You do not order me, Dinobot," Megatron informed him, glaring at his former comrade. "Or have you forgotten that I have the girl and thus have the advantage. Now surrender or you can say goodbye to the object of your twisted affection." he slowly began to crush her to prove that he wasn't bluffing.

"Dinobot, help me!" the girl screamed in pain.

"Stop that!"

"I will if you surrender."

"Dinobot!"

The raptor growled. He really didn't want the girl to die but he didn't want to surrender either.

"I'm waiting."

"Fine," he said when he saw how much pain the girl was in. "I..." the words got stuck in his throat and he had to force them out. "Surrender."

Megatron grinned, "Now that wasn't so hard was it?" he said.

Actually it had been very hard and Megatron knew it.

"Your honor makes you weak, Dinobot," Megatron taunted him. "That's what makes you the loser and me the winner."

"Winner this, Grape Face!" Cheetor shouted, popping up out of nowhere and shooting at Megatron.

The Predacon moved sideways to avoid the shot. It hit the ground next to him.

"No!" Dinobot shouted, turning around and running up to Cheetor. He and grabbed the gun out his hands. "You cannot _shoot_ him! He has the girl!"

"But, Dinobot-" Cheetor began.

"Do you want to_ kill _her?"

"No but we can't just stand there and let him get away with her!" Cheetor protested.

"I know that, feline!" the raptor snarled. "But what do you want us to do?!"

"I don't know!"

Dinobot turned back to Megatron. "Let the girl go," he said again.

"Not until you give me the Golden Disc."

"I do not have it!"

"Then who does?"

Cheetor answered that without thinking. "Yume has it!"

"CHEETOR, YOU FOOL!" Dinobot screamed at him, looking ready to pound the smaller robot into the ground.

"Yume?" Megatron said, confused. He looked at the girl. "So _that's_ your name." he grinned at her then looked back at the two Maximals. "Thanks you Cheetor. Now I don't have a reason to let the girl go."

"MEGATRON!" Dinobot growled, turning from the younger robot and toward the Predacon. He looked ready to rip out the other robot's spark if he didn't let the girl go. "You said you'd let her go if we gave you back the disc!"

"Well I can't help it that the girl happens to have the disc on her, no," Megatron retorted.

"Put her down!" Dinobot made a move to come at Megatron. Megatron predicted it and threw the girl into Inferno's arms so he could use the gun on his arm. He used it to shoot Dinobot off his feet. The raptor shrieked and fell back against a pile of rocks.

"Dinobot!" Yume screamed. When he didnt' get back up she looked at Megatron, her eyes brimming with tears. "YOU'VE KILLED HIM, YOU HEARTLESS MANIAC!"

"He brought it upon himself," Megatron informed her. "Now let's us be going." he turned to go and Inferno turned to follow.

"Megatron!" a voice called out just then.

The Predacon leader looked over his shoulder. He saw Optimus Primal flying toward them. "You're too late, Primal!" he called to the Maximal leader. "I already have what I want. The Golden Disc and the girl are mine once more."

"Megatron," Primal said, trying to reason with the Predacon. "You have your disc back. You don't need the girl."

"I'll be the judge of that, yess," Megatron said. "This girl has been causing me enough trouble. I figure it's time to make her pay for it, yess."

"You can't-"

"I can and I _will_," Megatron cut him off. "And there's nothing you can do to stop me, no!"

_A/N_

_You'll just have to wait awhile to find out what will happen next. I'll be away over the weekened and won't have time to update this. I hope this will tide you over until then. I'm sorry this chapter was so short. I couldn't think of anything else. _


	21. Chapter 21

CHAPTER 21

_"Help!"_

_The voice seemed far away and the distance became greater the more the voice called out. Something was pulling it away. He tried to reach out to it. Tried to call it back. _

_"Help me!"_

_The voices owner needed him. He reached for it, called for it, tried to get it to come back. The voice just grew quieter as it faded away with the distance. _

_Then it was gone._

* * *

Dinobot woke in the CR Chamber. He didn't know how he got there. He didn't even remember being brought back to the base. He looked out the little window and saw Optimus, Rattrap, and Rhinox standing in the control room, talking about something. He couldn't hear what was being said because the CR door was sound proof. He wanted to know what was going on and pushed the button that opened the door. 

The three Maximals turned their heads at the sound of the door opening. He stepped into the room and asked. "What is wrong?"

Optimus looked at the raptor. Dinobot was looking much better now that he'd finally been repaired properly in the CR Chamber. When Primal and the two cat robots had brought him back he'd looked like he'd been in the middle of an earthquake. The Maximal leader knew he only looked that way because he and the human girl had run into a lot of trouble and he'd been shot multiple times, though his beast mode had repaired some of it. Beast modes could only do so much... Speaking of which... Now that Dinobot was functional again, they would have to tell him what had happened after he'd been knocked offline.

"We're discussing the most possible way of getting Yume back from the Predacons," Optimus explained.

Dinobot stared at him. He had figured that the other Maximals would have been able to get her away from Megatron when he could not. He had been hoping she would be here as well, drawing something in that infernal sketchbook of hers. "What do you mean?" he asked. "Is she not here?"

Rhinox shook his head. "No," he replied. He sounded like he really wished the girl _had _been brought back.

The former Predacon gave Optimus Primal a sharp look. "I saw you arrive," he snarled. "Why did you not do _something_?!"

"Cool it, Chopper-face," Rattrap said, steeping forward. "The Big-Ape tried to get her away from Megatron but the Pred put a gun up to her head." the smaller Maximal folded his arms. "Besides; none of this ever would have happened if _you_ hadn't of let your guard down."

"MY FAULT!?" Dinobot roared."Who are you to make such assumptions, vermin?!" he demanded, getting into the other robot's face. "You do not even know what happened!"

"Maybe not but I know how you are," Rattrap shot back, pointing into the raptor's blue face. "I know ya don't even like the girl and would do anything to make sure ya didn't have to take care of her like ya were told ta."

"If I had _wanted_ to get rid of that responsibility I would not have let her get captured by Megatron!" Dinobot roared, grabbing the smaller robot by the neck and lifting him off the floor. "I will _not _be blamed for this! I know I did not protect her like I should have and it might be partly my fault but if I had not been the one left in charge of her would it have mattered? Would you have done a better job?"

"I woulda protected her better than a former Predacon!" Rattrap retorted.

Dinobot angrily slammed him against the wall. "Go ahead," he growled, glaring angrily at the other robot. "Say that again..."

This was getting out of hand. "Dinobot, stand down," Optimus ordered just then. The raptor looked over at Primal. "Fighting with each other will not help us get Yume back. We have to _think_ of something."

Dinobot let the rat go. The smaller robot fell to the floor with a clang. "You are right," the raptor agreed, doing a slight bow. "But standing around talking will not get her back any time soon, either." he snarled, showing off his sharp white teeth. "Megatron will surely kill her before we even even come to a descition." he clenched a fist. "The only way to get her back is by _force_."

Optimus frowned. Dinobot always resorted to violence when he wanted to get something done. Most of the time his suggestions were ignored or discarded. That kind of thinking might have worked when he was a Predacon but Maximals thought differently. They always spent hours weighing the pro and cons before they took any kind of action and sometimes... that wasn't always the best way to do things.

"Dinobot," Optimus said slowly. "We can't just _shoot_ our way into the Predacon base."

Dinobot didn't want to hear that excuse again. "Why not?!"

The Maximal leader gave him a look. The raptor knew what it meant and backed off slightly. He sighed. "Well we still cannot just stand around talking," he insisted. "Besides I was given responsibility over that girl and I have already let her get harmed enough. I cannot let anything else happen to her while she is here."

Optimus opened his mouth to say that nothing that had happened was Dinobot's fault but then shut it up again. He knew the way the raptor thought. Whatever Primal said would not help. Instead he said. "I know that. What do you plan on doing then?"

The raptor held up his sword and stared at his reflection in the blade. "I must get her," he said. "By myself."

"Are ya crazy!?" Rattrap asked, getting off the floor as he stared at the taller robot in shock. "Ya can't just go bargin' into the Pred base by yourself!"

"Why not?" Dinobot snarled, looking over at him.

"Remember what happened last time?"

Dinobot knew what Rattrap was talking about and didn't say anything.

"I agree with Dinobot," Optimus said. "Going there by yourself would be a bad idea."

Dinobot still said nothing. Instead he put away his sword and stalked out of the room.

* * *

Yume had hated being in the Predacon base before but now she loathed it. The first time it hadn't bothered her so much because she was with Dinobot, though, at that time, he was more of a threat than a protection. This time she was scared to death. Not because she was in a ship full of dangerous Predacons but_ because she was stuck in a ship full of dangerous Predacons and she couldn't run away and she knew she was about to die! _

When they'd arrived back at the_ Darkside _Megatron had made sure the girl couldn't get away by typing her up with some kind of shiny wiring. If she tried to move the wires would shock her. She resorted to sitting totally still to avoid getting hurt. Megatron had also decided it would be best to keep an eye on her at all times and had her set in his chair in the throne/control room. He'd also taken her backpack from her and was tearing through it, throwing paper, her math book, and other important things out of it and onto the floor.

If it had been someone else, she might have screamed at them to stop but this time she kept her mouth shut. Telling him to leave her stuff alone wouldn't do any good. He wouldn't listen to her anyway. Finally he found what he wanted. He dropped the backpack on the floor and held up the Golden Disc. He stared at his reflection in the surface for a moment, smiling at himself. Finally he lowered the disc and glared at the girl.

"You thought you could get away with stealing my disc," Megatron said, walking over to her. He waved it in front of her face. "You should have realized I would get it back, yess."

The girl stared up at him and said nothing. She caught her reflection in the disc. She noticed a bruise on the left side of her face and wondered how she'd gotten it.

Megatron stepped away from her and handed the Disc to Waspinator, who was staring at the girl for no reason. "Waspinator, take this back to my room," he ordered. "And don't lose it."

"Yezzz Megatron," the wasp said, taking the disc and walking out of the room.

When the wasp was gone Megatron turned back to the girl. She met his eyes as he walked over to her. When he reached her he stood over her for a moment. "I am going to relsease you," he said after a moment. "But only if you promise you won't run away."

That would be the first thing she tried to do. She said nothing for a moment, letting her mind process the pros and cons of trying to escape. The cons out weighted the pros. Even if she did get out of the base she still had to worry about the volcanic area outside. The air alone would kill her. She'd barely survived it the first time.

Megatron was starting to get impatient. "Well?" he said.

She closed her eyes and sighed. "Okay," she said.

Megatron seemed satisfied with that and untied her. She jumped off the chair and rubbed her arms, noticing burn marks on her bare skin. She was careful to avoid them. just the slightest touch made them hurt. She looked up at Megatron's purple face. He stood at least seven feet taller than her so it was more than his gaze that intimidated her into looking away again. She didn't know why he untied her. It wasn't like he was going to let her live.

Megatron reached down and grabbed the girl by the back of the neck. He lifted her off the floor and made her face him. "I would like to know something," he said, meeting her eyes. "Why would a human who has nothing to do with past history or the future want to steal the Golden Disc from me?"

Yume said nothing. She just met his gaze and held it. She wouldn't be able to explain it to him anyway. _Why would I want to tell him my reason? _she thought. _I'm not sure what it is even. I think it might have had something to do with what Dinobot said. Megatron has no right to have the disc. _

"Well?" he said, giving her a little shake, "Answer me!"

"No," she said. "I'm not going to tell you."

The Predacon growled then let her go. She dropped to the floor and hit her knee, hard. She yelped in pain and grabbed her leg as she sat back.

* * *

Dinobot was in his room beating the daylights out of the punching bag he'd hung from the ceiling when he'd moved into the _Axalon_. He was ticked off. Not at Rattrap like usuall but with himself. He had let himself get careless, let his feelings prevent him from stopping Megatron. Let his defensive wall to fall down just enough to get attached to someone. He'd let it happen before on Cybertron and he'd let it happen again, with the same results. 

_I am a fool! _he though angrily, punching the bag again with more force. _This is why I should not have been give the responsibility. Why didn't Optimus listen to me?! _the bag hit the ceiling this time. _Now I am going to lose another person I care about. _He stopped and glared at the bag. _I should have kept my distance. I should have watched the girl but avoided any kind of contact. This never would have happened if I had just stayed back. _He hit the bag out of frustration. The chain broke and the bag hit the floor with a heavy thud. In his mind he'd knocked Megatron to the floor with a blaster shot to the head. _Take that Megatron!_

He heard the sound of dry clapping behind him. The raptor froze then turned around. He saw Rattrap in the doorway, clapping his hands with a sarcastic expression on his face. "Congradualtions, Chopper-Face," he said. "You sucessfully wooped the punching bag."

"What do you want, vermin?" Dinobot asked, going over to the bag and picking it up. The raptor was in no mood to be harrassed by the smaller robot. He hung up the bag and noticed Rattrap wasn't going away. He turned his head to glare. "What?!"

Rattrap shrugged. "Nothin' really," he said. "I was just wonderin' why you're here beatin' up on punchin' bags instead of blazing a new trail to the Pred base."

The puching bag's chain jangled as Dinobot let it go. He turned his full attention on the Maximal. "And what good would that do, vermin?" he asked.

Rattrap shrugged. "Eh, I dunno," he said. "But I for one don't think we should just be standin' around here and just talkin' about it. Megatron could be doing anythin' to that girl right now and we can't do anything about it hangin' around here."

"There is _nothing_ we can do," Dinobot said, angrily clenching his fists. "I cannot just go there by myself-"

"You don't hava go there by yourself," Rattrap cut him off. "I'll go with you."

Dinobot gave him a look. He really didn't want Rattrap to go with him. "And what could _you _do, vermin?" he demanded. "Spray paint more profanity on their walls?"

"Eh that was just to tick them off," Rattrap said, chuckling at the memory. "Hey, how did you find out about it?"

Dinobt smirked but didn't give away how he'd found out. "That is not important."

No it really wasn't. What _was_ important was getting the human girl back. "Anyway," Rattrap said, getting back on topic. "I figured if we both went to save her we wouldn't have a problem."

Dinobot didn't believe that for a second but right now he'd try anything. He snorted. "What did you have in mind?"

* * *

Megatron wasn't a patient sort, not when it came to humans. This girl had given him trouble the first time he'd spoken to her and she was still acting the same way though, her attitude seemed to have changed slightly. All well. If she wasn't going to tell him what he wanted he would just kill her faster. It didn't really matter to him. 

"You are making things worse for yourself, yess," he said, leaning over the girl. She was still on the floor. She was rubbing her sore knee which was already turning black and blue. "I should just kill you now."

"Then why don't you?" she asked, looking up at him. "Why are you torturing me by making me wait? Are you _that_ crazy?!"

"I'm not crazy, no," he said, poking her with his finger. "I just like to be informed before I dispose of a liability."

She was bold enough to push his finger away from her. "You know what I think," she asked, forcing herself to stand. "I think you don't want to kill me."

"Why do you think that?" he demanded.

"Because if you did you would have already," she replied.

"The only reason I haven't killed you by now is because I need you for something, yess," he answered, impatiently. This girl was starting to get into a subject he didn't want to get into. "And when your usefulness is over _then_ I'll get rid of you."

She came to a conclusion. "You need me," she said.

"Nonsense," he said, folding his arms. "Why would _I_ need _you_?"

"Because you're planning on using me to get to the Maximals," she replied, walking across the room. Megatron's gaze followed her. She stopped when she reached her backpack and began to clean up the mess he'd made. "You know they won't harm humans. You're planning on using me to win this war."

"How clever of you, yess," Megatron said, walking over to her. He grabbed her by the back of the shirt and lifted her off the floor. "You're not as stupid as I thought you were, human. But unfortunately for you that knowledge won't do you any good, no."

"I know." she said, meeting his gaze.

Megatron glared at her. Though her gray eyes held the fear she held from the beginning, they also held something else. Something he didn't like.

* * *

"I do not even know why I agreed to this," Dinobot moaned as he and Rattrap, in beast mode, headed away from the_ Axalon_. "Optimus might have been taking too long to do anything but at least if the others had come with we would have had help." 

"Since when do _you_ care about having help?" Rattrap asked, from his spot on Dinobot's back. "You're usually the first person to run off by yourself blastin' away."

"I _know_ that!" Dinobot snarled, turning his head to glare at the other transformer. He didn't need to be reminded of that fact, not now "But this is different."

"How is it different?"

"You would not understand," the raptor said, looking away.

"Oh, I think I do," Rattrap said, pocking Dinobot in the head. "Ya got feelin's got that girl."

"I do not!" the former Predacon protested.

"Ya can't fool me, Choppa-face," Rattrap said. "I've known you long enough to know when you've developed feelin's for something."

"You are imagining things."

"I am am I?" Rattrap challenged.

"Yes."

"Tell that to the sketch of you I found in your room," he said. "Now I know _you're_ no artist and none of use us paper anyway. So tell me. How did it end up in there?"

Dinobot said nothing.

"ya know what I think?" he asked. "I think that girl gave that picture to you and you hung it up in there."

"It is none of your business."

"Aren't _we_ touche?" Rattrap taunted.

"Shut up!"

_A/N_

_Sorry this was so short. The next chapter will be longer. I promise. I hope they were in character. _


	22. Chapter 22

CHAPTER 22

Yume was feeling defiant. Dinobot had told her about being so timid awhile back and his words were coming to mind now. She knew he was right. She needed to learn to stop being that way. She couldn't let Megatron scare her anymore, no matter how intimidating and scary he was. She needed to gain control of her fear. "You know that if you can use me to get to the Maximals you'll win this war," she said. "But what are you going to do after that?"

He frowned. "What do you mean?" he implored.

"You can't get off this planet," she answered. "If you could you would have done so already. I think you _don't_ want to win this war because it's your only form of entertainment. If you win what are you going to do? What will you be able to do? What will you have _left _to do?"

Megatron growled and brought her face close to his. "Aren't you the curious little wench, yess?" he demanded. "Well you won't get anything for your prying, no. You will just have to wait and see," he smiled mockingly. "_If_ I decide to let you live that long, yess."

Yume didn't comment. Megatron set her down and summoned one of his lackys into the room. Terrorsaur entered, looking upset and slightly angry. Megatron ignored his expression and ordered, probing the girl forward with his hand. "Terrorsaur, take the human to her room. I have something I need to do, yess.."

Terrorsaur glared at Megatron but did what he was told. Because of what the girl had done to him earlier that day he didn't want to be anywhere near her or have anything to do with her. He led the girl out of the room, grumbling to himself. "Oh of _course _Megatron, make me drag this girl around the base until I find where you want to put her. There are plenty of other people who could do this but you have to choose me. When I get my dignity back I'll..." his voice trailed off.

Yume looked up at him. She suddenly noticed how pretty his face was. She had never seen such a lovely face before on any of the transformers here or any robot from the cartoons she used to watch, one of the being _Gobots _(what? she likes robots of any kind, don't judge!). Not even the witch Blackarachnia looked this nice. She couldn't help staring. _How did someone with a face like that wind up getting caught up in this war? _she wondered. _You'd think he would be doing something else with looks like that? Isn't he afraid of ruining it or doesn't he care?_

Terrorsaur noticed her staring at him. He looked down at her, annoyed. "What _are_ you staring at?" he demanded.

Yume made a squeaking sound and put her hands over her mouth. She hadn't expected him to notice. "I- I'm sorry," she stammered. "I was just looking at your face and wondering how someone so lovely could-"

Terrorsaur's glare cut her off. He knew full well how pretty his face was. The fact that it looked so nice sometimes made Maximals think he was a weakling, or at least that's how it had been on Cybertron. He'd won many a bar fight because of this. Just because his face looked as lovely as the roses that grew in human gardens didn't mean he was like that. He'd been asked that same question before. He hated that question. "Just mind your own business, human," he snapped. "You don't need to know why I joined up with Megatron. It's not your business. You might think you can get everyone to have a soft spot for you by talking to them but I'm not letting it happen to me. I'm not weak to flesh creatures like that traitor Dinobot."

She gave him a startled look. "I wasn't trying to get you to like me," she corrected. "I don't even know what you're talking about."

"Yeah I bet you don't," he grunted.

Yume said nothing. It wasn't _her_ fault if Dinobot or anyone started having a soft spot for her. She wasn't trying to make them do it. She knew most of the people, except the Maximals, still didn't like her anyway. Megatron hated her and so did the other Predacons. Dinobot might have had a soft spot for her but it wasn't like he cared for her very much. Sure they were friends, but that was only her doing and not his. He didn't really want her to be his friend but she'd insisted.

Yume wasn't sure if Dinobot had really minded at all or he'd just been pretending.

_It doesn't matter now, _she thought. _He's my friend. And I'm sure he'll come and get me out of this..._

That thought brought on something else he had said to her. She once again remembered that he'd scolded her quite a few times for being a wimp that needed saving. What could she do about it? Of course she'd done a few things to defend herself like hitting Terrorsaur and grabbing Inferno's gun but that still only got her into worse trouble. Dinobot didn't seem to realize that she, being human, could not defend herself properly from robots. They were much bigger, stronger, and harder to damage than things she was used to. Sure she knew some karate but that wouldn't do any good against robots or machines. She wasn't Storm Shadow from _G.I. Joe _for goodness sake!

_But I can't just let them force me to do things, _she told herself, still following Terrorsaur who glared at her every once in awhile. _I can't be a wimp forever. I have to do something to defend myself. I have to get out of here!_

She stopped walking.

Terrorsaur didn't realize this fact until he was a few steps ahead of her. When he looked down and didn't see her there he stopped, looked over his shoulder, and spotted her standing in the middle of the hall, her head down and her fists clenched at her sides. "What are you doing?" he demanded, impatiently. He didn't need this right now. _What are you doing now?! Get over here, you stupid flesh creature!_

"I'm not going," she said, not looking at him.

"What?" he asked, turning back to her. Great, now she was being difficult. He walked over to her and grabbed her arm. "Come on. I don't have time for this."

She was defiant. "NO!" she screamed, bracing herself and pulling backwards. "I won't go!"

"Oh yes you _will_!" he shouted, yanking her forward. She lost her balance and fell into him. Terrorsaur was knocked off balance when she slammed into his chest plate and both creatures fell to the floor with a loud clang.

Yume didn't stay down for very long. Driving her knee into his stomach area she forced herself up and ran off, stepping on his face in the process. Terrorsaur grunted then slowly got up, holding his dented face, when he heard her footsteps banging down the metal hall. He stood up, his temper beginning to reach its boiling point, and saw the girl turn a corner and disappear. He didn't stay in one place too long. Fueled by his anger, he took off after her, yelling at her with profane language.

* * *

Optimus Primal decided to discuss saving Yume with Dinobot. He headed to the former Predacon's quarters and knocked on the door. "Dinobot," he said. "Open the door. I want to talk to you about something." 

No answer.

"Dinobot?" Optimus knocked again. "Dinobot, are you in there?"

Silence.

"Dinobot?" The Maximal pressed the button that opened the door and stepped inside. He looked around. Empty. No sign of the raptor anywhere. "Dinobot..."

That's when it hit him. _Slag! _he burst out of the room and ran down the hall. On the way he spotted Cheetor, who was coming toward him. "Cheetor!" he called to the younger robot.

Cheetor looked at him. "Yeah?" he said.

"Have you seen Dinobot?"

"Not since he stalked out of the control room," Cheetor replied. He noticed the look of urgency on his superior's face. Something was wrong. "What is it, Big bot?" he asked.

"I think he might have gone off the rescue the human girl by himself," Primal replied.

Cheetor's mouth dropped open in shock as Optimus ran by. "Wait!" he called after the older robot, running after him. "What do you mean he went off to save her himself!? Why would he do such a thing?"

"I don't know, Cheetor," Optimus said. "But it was a foolish thing to do. Doesn't he realize he can't save her by himself?"

"Maybe he thinks he has to," Cheetor suggested. "Maybe he thinks that since you made her his responsibility that saving her is something he has to do alone."

Optimus stopped running and stared at Cheetor. He hadn't thought of it that way. "You may be right, Cheetor," he said. "But even so, he should have said something instead of doing things himself."

Cheetor shrugged. "How often does he do that anyway?"

Optimus said nothing. He really didn't know. Dinobot wasn't stupid. If he'd gone out someone had put him up to it. Optimus could think of only one person. "Rattrap.."

Cheetor stared at him. "What?"

The Maximal leader shook his head. "Rattrap," he said.

That was all the younger bot needed to hear. "Oh..."

* * *

Terrorsaur was still looking for Yume. The human girl had managed to give him the slip but she couldn't get far. Not with the entire base surrounded by killer lava pits and poisonous gasses. She wouldn't be stupid enough to go out into that, though Terrorsaur would have prefered it. This girl wasn't worth all the trouble she caused. Megatron would have done better to kill her when he had the chance instead of letting her hang around and be a burden. 

"Where are you, your disgusting flesh creature?" Terrorsaur said, pulling out his gun, as he looked around himself. "Come on out. I won't hurt you."

Yume, who was just around the next corner, flattened her body against the wall, just out of his view. She tried to force herself to breathe slowly so he couldn't hear her but her heart refused to stop pounding and her rising fear began to slowly force itself into an utter panic. _Oh god Buddah! _she thought, trying to force herself to calm down. _If he finds me he'll kill me! _she mentally began to beat herself up and down her mind. _Look what you've done idiot! This is your fault for trying to be tough. You should have stayed the compliant little mouse you know you are at heart and just let him take you where ever he was supposed to take you!_

"Where are you, little girl?" Terrorsaur's voice cut into her thoughts. "Come out now before I do something to make you come out."

She didn't stick around long enough to let him full fill his threat. Sucking in a panicked breath she pushed herself from the wall and stepped out from her hiding spot. She stood in full view of the Predacon flier. Terrorsaur spotted her. "There you are!" he said, walking over to her. "Come here. I don't have time for your childish games!"

_It's now or never. _Taking a deep breath, she launched herself forward. Terrorsaur watched her coming toward him at an unnatural speed. Before he knew what was happening the girl lifted her hands and shoved them into his face. He screeched in surprise as the girl's fingers went into his optics. Sparks went off and the girl screamed as her fingers got burned by short circuiting wires. Terrorsaur was instantly blinded and fell to the floor, his hands over his broken optics, screaming in agony. The girl, grinding her teeth at the burning pain in her fingers stared down at him for a moment then started running again.

"I WILL _KILL_ YOU!" she heard Terrorsaur scream out in anger and pain after her fleeing figure.

* * *

Dinobot and Rattrap found a place outside the Predacon base where the security system couldn't stop them but they would still have a good view of the _Darkside._Dinobot stared at the base, thoughtfully. After a moment he voiced the problem at hand. "Megatron has increased the security around the base," he said, observing the area. "I think he knew we would try to get her back." 

Rattrap stared at him. "Well we still have to save her," he said, matter of factly.

The raptor gave him a sharp look. "And how do you plan on getting us inside, vermin?" he demanded. "Megatron will detect our presence if we do anything careless."

"You worry too much, Chopper-face," Rattrap said, getting up on his hind legs and leaning against the raptor's leg. "Just leave everything to me."

* * *

Terrorsaur slowly got off the floor, his hand over his broken optics. It was bad enough he couldn't see but knowing that a human girl had blinded him was even worse. Luckily nobody had seen it happen. "When I get my hands on that girl she's going to wish Megatron_ had _killed her," he growled groping for the wall. His hand found it and he leaned against it, his other hand still over his optics. "Primus, I hate humans. She is so dead when I find her-" 

A voice cut off his rantings. "Terrorzzzaur?"

Terrorsaur froze. He recognized the voice as belonging to his wingmate Waspinator. _Great, just great... _"What do you want, Waspinator?" he asked in a not too happy voice.

"Wazzpinator is wondering why Terror-bot is leaning against the wall and muttering to himself," Waspinator replied. The other flier heard him take a few steps closer. "Izz Terror-bot all right?"

Terrorsaur raised his head and glared at the spot where he thought Waspinator was standing. "Does it_look _like I'm all right?" he demanded angrily.

Waspinator noticed the damage to Terrorsaur's optics. He made a buzzing sound then asked. "What hazz happened to Terror-bots eyezzz?"

Terrorsaur was too mad to lie. "That stupid human did this," he snapped. "She shoved her fingers right into my optics and burned them out!" he reached out as if to touch Waspinator. The wasp was standing just out of his reach so his fingers fell short and he stumbled forward. Waspinator grabbed his arm to keep him standing. "Now I'm blind!"

"Oh.." Waspinator said, staring at his wingmates blank optics. _At leazzt thizz time it wazzzn't Wazzpinator... _"Does Terror-bot want Wazzpinator to take him to the CR tank?"

"It would be appreciated," Terrorsaur said in an impatient voice.

Waspinator didn't need much prompting. Keeping a tight hold on the other flier's arm he led him down the hall to the CR tanks.

* * *

Yume's momentum ran out not too long after she'd blinded Terrorsaur. She'd found an empty room to hide in, to catach her breath, and had slammed the door on her own power instead of waiting for the door to shut itself. The door had whined in protest against her straining but she'd managed to shut it against its protests. Now that she was sure she was safe for the time being the pain in her hands began to return in full force. She resisted the urge to put her hands in her mouth, knowing that would just make them worse. She crossed her hands and squated down, tears beginning to run down her face. "Ow..." she moaned, lifting a hand to look at her fingers. The circuits she'd messed up when she'd shoved her fingers into Terrorsaur's optics had given her fingers red burns. She wasn't sure what degree they were but she hoped they weren't second or third. If they were... She'd be in a lot of trouble. 

"Oh God," she said in a low voice, moving her hands away from her face. "Please don't let this be serious."

Her mind went back to her act of desperation. She'd run up to the Predacon in a blind panic and her body had reacted on its own. She'd gained some distance blinding Terrorsaur but she hadn't meant to do such a thing. It had been an accident. "I hope he's okay," she found herself saying.

That thought surprised her. Why did she care about Terrorsaur? He'd tried to kill her. "I must be losing it," she reasoned, pushing herself back up to her feet. "This whole situation is making me lose my mind. I'm going nuts."

That thought _didn't_ surprise her. It wasn't that far from the truth. Only a robot wouldn't be driven mad by this situation. She laughed to herself. Who was she to judge that? For all she knew most of the robots here were crazy. _Like that spider and the demon with the hellgun, _she thought.

Footsteps in the hall caused her to freeze. She leaned against the door, listening, hoping it wasn't Megatron, looking for her to make her pay for what she'd done to his soldier. The footsteps weren't loud enough to be Megatron's, though. They sounded like they belonged to a smaller transformer. When she heard the person's voice she knew it wasn't the megalomaniac. "Why doesn't Megatron respect me?" a whiny voice was saying to himself. "_I'm _second in commander and he keeps me in the base all day. If I didn't know better I'd think that he's thinking about giving my job to that suck up. He'd better not! I've been loyal to Megatron from the beginning. If he thinks I'm going to hand my rank over to that lunatic who's only been around for a few weeks he's got another thing coming! Also, why didn't he tell me about the human girl? I could have come up with an easier way to get her but,_no_, of course not. Nobody appreciates me! Nobody!"

_Who is this? _

To Yume's knowledge she'd never encountered this specific person. She might have but she wasn't sure. She didn't know the voice, and she if she had met him she would have remembered that whine. The images that went through her mind of the Predacons didn't seem to match it. _Huh? Is there a new Predacon here? _She turned around and slowly opened the door an inch. She peeked out with one eye. The transformer she saw looked like a gray deformed monster. It's body was shiny and it had a tail sticking up, similar to a scorpions. It didn't even have hands! It had two claws where the hands should have been. _What is that thing? _

The thing stopped walking and looked around itself. She gasped silently, thinking it had heard her open the door and slowly slid the door shut before it turned around and saw her peeking at it. She waited a moment, her heart pounding as she listened. It still wasn't moving. _Oh God! Walk away! Just walk away! You didn't hear anything! Walk away!_

A few seconds later the thing started walking again. She sighed in relief. It hadn't heard her after all._Good. I wouldn't want to have to deal with that thing..._

* * *

Rattrap outlined his plan. "Here's what we're gonna do; We can't just walk into the base because of Megatron's security system so we'll have to think of a way to get around it." 

Dinobot sighed. That was obvious enough. The problem was; how? "So," Dinobot said, looking down at the smaller robot. "What did you have in mind?"

"We dig a tunnel," Rattrap said with a straight face.

Dinobot was in no mood for stupid answers. "What kind of plan is_ that_!?" he exploded. "That is the worst plan I have_ ever _heard!"

"I'm kidding," Rattrap said, quickly.

Dinobot growled at him. "Now is not the time for your jokes, vermin," he snapped. "Now either you have a plan that is not foolish or you do not. Which is it?"

"I do have a plan," Rattrap said, quickly.

"Then tell me it without any of your jokes," Dinobot said impatiently.

"You're no fun," the smaller robot said. "But here it is..."

_A/N_

_I am no good with coming up with plans for anything. Sorry. I'll think of something. Terrorsaur is so beautiful! lol. _

_Am I purposely taking forever to end this? Sorta. I don't want it to end so soon. Though I'm going to make a sequel because you all like this one, I really like this story. I don't want it to end. It's the best story I've written for this category and really fun. So yeah. This fic might get like maybe ten more chapters. XD_

_I'm also busy working on three stories at the same time right now (another Beast Wars one and a G1 related fic) so that's why updates take awhile to come. I hope you don't mind. _


	23. Chapter 23

CHAPTER 23

Scorponok was totally unaware of the fact that Yume had gotten away from Terrorsaur. This ignorance wouldn't last for very long. He ran into Waspinator and Terrorsaur who were on their way to the CR Tanks a few minutes after he's passed by the room where Yume had hidden herself. He noticed Terrorsaur's blank optics and the way he was moving. "What happened to him?" he asked, pointing a claw at Terrorsaur.

Before Waspinator could answer Terrorsaur shot shouted out in bad temper. "That human girl did this to me!"

"The human girl?" Scorponok said, cocking his head to get a better look. "_She_ did that to you?"

"Yes," the flyer seethed, through clenched teeth.

Scorponok snorted in laughter.

"It's_ not _funny," Terrorsaur growled, wishing he could see the cocky second in command so he could punch his face in. "How would you like it if she did that to _you_?"

"_I_ wouldn't have let her," the Predacon second in command said.

"Sure you wouldn't," Terrorsaur grumbled. He yanked on Waspinator's arm. "Let's go."

Waspinator pushed past Scorponok after shrugging in a confused way. The second in command watched the two head down the hall, smirking. So Terrorsaur had been defeated by a human girl. Scorponok always knew the flyer was incompaient. _Imagine not being able to control a simple human girl. _"Megatron should have told_ me _to take her," he said to himself, turning his back on the other two transformers and walking down the hall. "Well, I'll just find her myself and prove it."

Like a man on a mission he strutted importantly down the hall, thinking of how proud Megatron would be when he found the girl.

* * *

At the moment the girl had calmed down long enough to think rationally. "Okay, girl, think," she said to herself, still leaning against the door, and trying to get the burns on her hand out of her mind. "You have to get out of here but you can't just go screaming in panic. You'll just be caught again and this time they will kill you. You have to be sneaky. You have to get out of the base quickly and quietly." 

But how?

She couldn't think of anyway to get out easily. She couldn't just go out into the halls again. The Predacons would spot her. _There has to be an easier way... _she thought, wrapping her hands around herself. _There has to be._

That's when she looked up and spotted the vents. _Oh, of course! Why didn't I think of that before?! _She slung her backpack over her shoulder and marched over to the vent. Setting the pack down again she grabbed the vents and pulled. It wouldn't budge.

"Crap!" she shouted in annoyance kicking the vent.

* * *

Rhinox didn't know that Rattrap and Dinobot had gone anywhere. He figured Dinobot had gone off to his room to sulk like he did so often and Rattrap had gone to his own room to do something as well. He hadn't even seen the two sneak out of the base because they'd taken a different exit than the one in the control room. When Optimus and Cheetor stumbled into the control room, he looked up from the program he'd been working on and stared at them. They both had urgent looks on their faces. He knew right away something was wrong. 

"What happened?" he asked.

"Dinobot and Rattrap went out to save the girl without telling us," Optimus replied. He didn't look happy about this fact. "Why couldn't they have waited until we came up with a plan?"

"Dinobot _and _Rattrap?" Rhinox said, staring at his leader in disbelief. "Dinobot went willingly with Rattrap to save the girl?" The very thought was a surprise in itself. "Are you _sure_?"

"Yes, I'm_ sure_," Optimus said, a bit impatiently. "This was a extremely bad idea. Don't they know what might happen?"

"I'm sure they do, Optimus," Rhinox said, slowly. "But Dinobot feels responsible for what happened to the girl. He thinks rescuing her is something he has to do. You know how he is."

"Yes," Optimus said. "I do."

"So what are we going to do, Big Bot?" Cheetor wanted to know.

"We're going after them," he paused. "But first I think I should let Megatron know." He ignored the face Cheetor made as he instructed Rhinox to get in contact with the Predacon base.

* * *

Yume kicked the vent once more but it refused to even dent. "Come on!" she screamed at it. "Let me in there! Don't you realize I'm in trouble?! I have to get in there! I don't want them to find me! If they find me I'll die!" she grabbed the vent and started pulling, tears dripping down her face. "Let me in!" 

_What am I doing? _

The girl let go of the vent. Had her mind finally snapped? She was being irrational. She couldn't stand there pleading with a _vent_! It couldn't hear her anyway. Chuckling at her mental break down she gave the vent a once over, hoping to see something she'd missed before. She noticed the screws holding the vent in. She almost laughed out loud at her lack of observance. Why hadn't she seen this before? She giggled quietly, telling herself that it must be from nerves. She turned to her backpack and began to rummage through it, hoping to find something that she could use to open the vent. Her fingers finally closed upon a metal nail file. Taking it out of the pack she held it up to her face, studying it carefully. It just might work.

Turning back to the vent she carefully placed the tip of the file into the ridge on the first screw. It fit perfectly. Slowly she began to turn the file. To her relief it worked perfectly. She sighed in relief at the fact. When she was finished with the first screw she set to work on the other one. This one was easily unscrewed as well.

When she was done she pulled the cover off the vent, set it on the floor, grabbed her back pack, and climbed into the vent. "Now to get out of here."

* * *

Dinobot put up his hands to ward off flying dirt. Rattrap was digging a hole. The raptor wasn't exactly sure what he was planning on doing with it and didn't want to ask._This is stupid, _he thought to himself. _If he thinks I'm going to tunnel my way there he'd got another thing coming. _

Rattrap poked his head out of the hole. "Are you gonna help me with this or not?" he demanded.

Dinobot growled at him. "I am not going to tunnel my way to the Predacon base, vermin," he snapped.

Rattrap climbed out. "You got a better idea?" he wanted to know.

"No." Dinobot admitted. "But tunneling like a mole is not the way to do it." He clenched a fist. "It would be easier if we battle our way in."

Rattrap shook his head, folding his paws. "I wasn't tunneling."

"Then what _were_ you doing?"

Rattrap gave him a superior look. "You'll see," he said then went into robot mode. "I figured we could create some kind of diversion."

"And how will a hole do that?" Dinobot wanted to know.

"I'm getting to that," the smaller Maximal said. "You see, I'll create some kind of diversion while you make your way to the Predacon base."

"But what is the hole for?"

Rattrap chuckled to himself. "You'll see." he said before he turned around and fired at the Predacon base.

Dinobot stared at him. "What are you _doing_?!" he demanded.

"What does it look like I'm doing, scale belly?" he said. "I'm distracting the Preds. They'll attack me and that will give you a chance to sneak into the base."

Dinobot looked like he wanted to stay and fight. The entrance to the base had opened and two Predacons had come out to deal with the intruder. Rattrap looked over his shoulder at the former Predacon. "What are you doing still standing there?" he demanded. "Get going."

Against Dinobot's own feelings he did so, slipping quietly away and leaving Rattrap to deal with the enemy._This still doesn't explain what he is going to do with the hole.._

* * *

Yume was finding it very easy to crawl through the vent in the Predacon base. For one thing they were unusually large and she had plenty of room to move around. For another, she was getting her amusement by listening to random snatches of Predacon conversations. From what she got from it, nobody on the Predacon base really liked Megatron except for the demon. She started to wonder why the others even bothered being there if they didn't like Megatron. it didn't make sense. 

_Unless they're all afraid of him,_she thought, crawling along. _I can't really blame them. I know I am._

She stopped crawling when she heard Megatron's voice below her. She froze and peeked through the grate in the bottom of the vent. "So it seems that the Maximals decided to rescue the human, yes," he was saying. She heard some kind of liquid sloshing around and she guessed he was in his hot tub thing."They shouldn't waste their time. By the time they get to the girl I'll be done with her, yess."

_That's what you think, _she thought to herself. _I won't let you kill me that easily. _

She crawled along, trying her best to be quite so he wouldn't hear her creeping along in the vent above his head. Luckily he was too distracted by the Maximal's outside that he didn't hear her.

_The Maximals, _she thought as she crawled along. _The maximals. Did they come here to save me? Maybe I can try to get to them. What if they're looking for me right now? They'll never be able to find me in here. I'll have to get out and try to get to them. _She wasn't sure she wanted to do that. If she got out of the ventilation shaft she risked being seen or caught again by the Predacons. She didn't want to be caught again. The Predacons would likely not let her live much longer if she did. They all seemed to want to kill her anyway. _But what choice do I have?_she wondered. _If I don't I'll probably never get out of here and if I do I'll be spotted. _Neither idea was welcome.

She sat up, hunching her back against the height of the vent and wrapped her arms around herself as she thought about the pros and cons. In the end the pros won and she slowly opened the vent under her. Just as she jumped out of it Scorponok came around the corner. One minute he was standing up the next he was face flat on the floor because of a sudden added weight on his shoulders that knocked him down. Yume squieked in surprise and looked down at the thing she landed on. A gray metal mass with a weird looking head that looked like it was wearing yellow sunglasses.

"Ow," it moaned. "What hit me?" it lifted it's head and stared up at Yume who's eyes had grown as big a saucers. "YOU!" he screamed.

The girl shrieked and got off him. As he tried to get up she kicked him in the face. He yelped at the impact and his head got knocked out of place. The girl didn't stick around. As he got up and tried to put it back the way it was she turned and dashed away.

Scorponok got his head back into place and didn't waste any time standing around. He ran after her, keeping her in view pretty easily since he could run faster than any human._She's not going to get away from me.._

* * *

Luckily for Dinobot Rattrap's diversion kept the Predacons from noticing him sneaking into the base. He knew enough about the ship to choose only the halls that he was sure nobody would ever walk through. _I just have to find out where Megatron put her, if she is still alive, _he thought. He just had to find somebody and force them to tell him where she was. That solution was simple enough, just as long as nobody else saw him and so far nobody had. He wasn't sure how long his luck would last though, and got moving.

* * *

Yume had gotten out of Scoponok's line of vision much to his surprise and annoyance. He slowed down his pace and started moving cautiously forward, not sure if she might be close by and just hiding. This was only the second time he'd had any kind of encounter with the human so he didn't know what she was made of. Humans, he knew, weren't very smart in most respects but very resourceful. How else could they have lived so long with the weak bodies they had? He knew better than to underestimate them. Still, he felt he could deal with one human girl. Humans by themselves were almost completely helpless. 

Or so he thought.

Yume wasn't very far from him, only around the next corner and she wasn't about to go down without a fight. She was completely calm as she weighed her backpack, realizing it made a rather good weapon. _This Predacon isn't going to get the best of me, _she thought determindly. _Not this time._

Scorponok had nearly reached the corner when Yume sprang out at him with a scream. Before he knew what was happening she smacked him in the face with her pack. Taken completely by surprise he took the blow in the face and fell over onto the floor. The girl didn't run this time. She stood over him and began to batter him with the pack, wanting to make sure he couldn't come after her again.

Scorponok was totally unprepared for this surprise attack and began screaming loudly, putting his claws up to protect his face.

The girl kept on battering him until she heard something break off. She stopped when she saw one of his claws fall onto the floor. Satisfied with that she kicked him in the face, once again knocking his head out of whack and then turned and ran, congradulating herself as she swung her pack over her shoulder._I'm not going to let them intimidate me anymore, _she thought._I've let enough people do that already._

Scorponok head her footsteps die away before his optics went dark as he slipped into stasis lock. One Predacon out of the way six more to go..

* * *

Terrorsaur could see again.The damage the girl had sustained to his optics wasn't as serious as it had first seemed and one trip to the CR baths quickly repaired it. As soon as he could see again he set off to find the human girl and teach her a lesson. Waspinator tagged along with him, reminding him quite forcefully that Megatron didn't want the girl dead. 

"She should have thought of that before she tried to blind me," he growled at his wing mate. He held up his rifle, staring at his reflection in the smooth surface. "_Nobody_ does that to me and gets away with it."

"Terror-bot needs to calm down!" Waspinator buzzed, grabbing his arm and forcing him to lower it. "Terror-bot shouldn't let female fleshy-bot get to him."

Terrorsaur yanked his arm out of Waspinator's grip. "She didn't_ get to me_," he snapped bad temperedly. He smirked disarmingly. "Oh don't worry, Waspy," he said soothingly when he noticed the look on his comrades face. "I won't kill her." he pumped a round into the chamber. "I'll just make sure she never uses her limbs again!"

Waspinator said nothing. When Terrorsaur got like this it was best to keep ones mouth shut._Pteradactle idiot!_

* * *

Megatron totally unaware of any of the events taking place in the base. He was too busy watching Rattrap, the one man army, shooting at Inferno and Blackarachnia who'd gone out to fight him. If he had known about everything else, he wouldn't be sitting in his hot tub smiling that toothy smile of his. He would have been screaming bloody murder as he rampaged through the base, thinking of dealing with all the incompitence around him. 

Just then the computer announced. "Incoming Maximal frequency."

"Allow it," he told the computer. _It must be Primal. He's probably going to whine at me about the girl, yes._

"Acknowleged." the computer said and the screen in front of him changed. Optimus Primal's face appeared on the screen. Megatron smiled. He'd been expecting this contact. "Greetings, Optimus," he said leaning back in the hot tub. "and to what do I owe this... conversation?"

Optimus Primal wasn't in the mood for Megatron's false politeness. "Megatron," he said, sounding worn out. "I wanted to make you aware of a mission I did not authorise."

"And what would that be?" Megatron asked, smirking. "The fact that the vermin is trying to rescue the girl by himself?"

"He's not by himself," Optimus said.

"I'm sure he is, yess," Megatron said, looking at the other screen he'd activated. "I'm watching him right now."

For a moment Optimus said nothing. Finally he said. "Dinobot went with him."

Megatron's made a curious face. "What?"

"Yes, they left the base without my consent. I believe they went to rescue the human girl you took with you."Optimus said, folding his arms. "You weren't aware of that were you?"

Megatron frowned. _So the vermin is just a diversion... _He saw the look on his rival's face. Optimus' face looked lightly triumphant. He knew something Megatron didn't. Megatron did not like not knowing everything Primal knew. The Predacon didn't bother giving the Maximal an answer. He turned off the screen and pulled himself out of the tub. His good mood was gone. "Dinobot, you sneaky piece of scrap metal..."

_A/N_

_This chapter would have come out better if I didn't have so many distractions. The bad thing is whenever I try to work on this somebody in my family is watching TV and distracting me with it. It drives me crazy! Sorry it took so long to update._

_I know that thing with Megatron and primal was a bit OOC. I'M SORRY! I'll probably change it, but only if you want me to. _


	24. Chapter 24

CHAPTER 24

Dinobot had almost run into Megatron as the Predacon came storming out of his room, dripping wet from being in his hot tub. Luckily the raptor ducked out of sight just in time, otherwise Megatron would have either shot him or plowed him over._What has gotten him so angry? _Dinobot wondered, watching his former commander stalk down the hall. Well it didn't matter. He was on a mission. He would deal with Megatron later. First he had to find that stupid female human and get her out of there, and _that _was turning out to be much harder than he figured.

_I hate humans, _he thought, stalking in the opposite direction Megatron had gone. _I hope that girl goes home and never comes back. _

The next moment he crashed into two bodies coming toward him that had been in an intense conversation. The three fell onto the floor in a tangle of arms and legs. At that moment Yume happened to run down another hall and, since she was looking over her shoulder, didn't see the crash of the bodies and thus tripped over them, falling face flat on the metal floor.

"OW!" she wailed in pain. She pushed herself up and looked over her shoulder. Three different pairs of optics, two red and one purple stared at her. "YOU!" their owners shouted at once for different reasons.

The girl got up and started backing away from the three. She saw that one of them was Dinobot but she couldn't get near him with Terrorsaur and Waspinator being so close. She didn't want either of them grabbing her.

"Yume?" Dinobot said.

The girl didn't answer. She turned and ran off.  
"YUME!" Dinobot shouted in anger. "Stupid girl." he noticed Terrorsaur and Waspinator and scrambled to his feet, pulling out his sword. The two Predacons did the same and pointed their guns at his head. There was a short stand off.

"Don't move, Maximal," Terrorsaur said.

"I do not have time for you," Dinobot growled. "Get out of my way."

"I don't think so," Terrorsaur said and Waspinator began to laugh.

The raptor's lasers began to charge up. "Well I _do_!" he shouted, unleashing the energy. The lasers hit the two Predacons in the chests and sent them flying. They hit the wall and slid to the floor. Dinobot stepped over them and ran in the direction the girl had gone. "GET BACK HERE, YOU STUPID FLESH CREATURE!"

* * *

"I don't understand why you had to tell Megatron about Rattrap and Dinobot," Cheetor was complaining as he, Optimus Primal, and the other Maximals headed quickly to the Predacon base. They knew they didn't have much time. If the human girl stayed with the Predacons much longer Megatron would kill her, maybe sooner now since Dinobot and Rattrap went after her. "Wouldn't it have been much easier to get them out if he didn't know?"

"Not telling him wouldn't have changed anything," Optimus replied, looking at Cheetor. "Other than the fact that he would have thought that this was _my_ idea."

"So you didn't want to take the blame for this?" the cheetah asked. "Why should it matter?"

"I have my pride," Optimus said. "Sometimes it makes me irrational, especially when it comes to Megatron. I admit it now; telling him wasn't a very smart thing for me to do."

"Why do you care what he thinks?"

"I don't."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"BUT HE'S GOING TO KILL HER!"

Optimus shook his head. "He would have killed her either way."

Cheetor didn't believe that for a moment, but didn't say anything. He was more worried about Yume than why Optimus told Megatron about Rattrap and Dinobot. _I just hope we get there in time._

* * *

Megatron was ticked off beyond words. He'd thought he'd finally started having things his way again, now it seemed he'd been duped once more. Dinobot was becoming more annoying than he'd started out being. First he was just a traitor and now he was a traitor who was causing his old boss all kinds of stress. Plus he was smarter than Megatron gave him credit for, though Megs didn't like to admit it. _But he won't save the girl in time, no. _Megatron thought determindly. _I'll force him to watch me kill her before his very optics, yes! _With that thought in mind the determination to face either person became greater. Megatron just hoped he'd get to the girl first.

_Now if Terrorsaur followed orders for once the human should be in a room close by, yes..._

* * *

It didn't take long for Dinobot to catch up with Yume. He was much taller than her and closed more distance than her short human legs could. He didn't get out of breath either. When he was close enough, he reached out and grabbed her by the back of her backpack. She came off her feet and hung from the straps of the pack like a life sized puppet. Yume thought Megatron or one of the Predacons had grabbed her and started kicking and screaming. "LET ME GO!" she shouted, flapping her arms and legs. "Let me go!"

One food got him in the knee. Dinobot roared in pain as the sharp toed boot made contact with it. He angrily turned her around and got her face right up to his. "Stop that right now!"

The instant she recognized him, she stopped struggling and stared at his angry blue face. "Dinobot!" she exclaimed. "It was just you!"

"Of course it's me," he snapped. "Who else would it be?"

She sputtered something. He rolled his optics. "Stop doing that!" he ordered. "How many times have I told you not to do that?!"

"I-I I'm sorry," she stammered. "but I've been trying to get out of here and everyone's trying to kill me and I keep on running away and a giant scorpion tried to kill me and-"

"Quiet!"

She buttoned her lip. Dinobot smirked. "That is better," he set her gently on the floor. "Now that I have you I think we should get out of here."

She couldn't have agreed more. "But how?"

Before he could answer someone else cut in. "Yes, but how." the two turned toward the sound. Megatron stepped into view. "How are you going to get out with me blocking you, yess?"

Dinobot glared hatefully at his former leader. Yume stepped behind the ex-Predacon, not to use him as a shield in case Megatron fired at them but because Megatron still scared her and Dinobot would protect her. Or so she told herself. She still wasn't sure.

"Get out of my way," Dinobot growled, holding his sword in front of him.  
"I don't think so, no," Megatron retorted, holding out his T-Rex head. "Not until I deal with that human girl."

"You will not touch her," Dinobot growled. "She is coming with me and I will not let you harm her."

"Since when did you care about humans?"

"I do not care about humans," Dinobot snapped. "But she was given to me as my responsibility and, as long as she stays that way, I will protect her."

Megatron sneered. "It's because of your honor," he said. "Everything goes back to that." he shook his head, smiling at the poor fool. "You and your pathetic honor."

Dinobot clenched his teeth together but said nothing. Megatron didn't understand Predacon _or _Decepticon honor. He cared nothing for those things and he'd often mock Dinobot about it. Dinobot didn't care. He wasn't going to change the way he was nor was he going to stand aside and let Megatron kill the girl.

"Now why don't you just stand aside and let me deal with her?" Megatron siad, cutting into his thoughts. "She's not _worth_ protecting, even with your pathetic honor making you do so."

"That is where you are wrong," the raptor retorted. "She _is_ worth protecting and I will not stand aside and let you harm her." He changed his stance, putting himself between Megatron and the girl. "If you want her come and get her."

Megatron glared at him. "Fine," he said, raising his T-rex head higher. "We'll have it your way."

* * *

Rattrap was really holding his own against Inferno and Blackarachnia very well. So far neither had been able to hit him with any of their firepower but that wouldn't last long. The two Predacons had gone into a running charge, coming at him and still firing shot after shot. He didn't want to stick around much longer. He turned away and jumped over the hole he'd been digging, clearing it easily. He ran a short distance then turned around to see the Predacons doing the same thing. Unfortunately for them, they only got about halfway. A huge explosion knocked them upward. He watched in amusement as the two flew a hundred feet into the air then crashed to the ground. Inferno landing on top of Blackarachnia.

"Get off me, ant brain!" she screamed, trying to push herself up.

Inferno was damaged from the explosion and the fall and wasn't going anywhere. He let her know this in loud screaming terms.

Rattrap turned away and ran off laughing his head off. "That was too easy! Hahahahahaaaa-" he wasn't watching where he was going and smacked into someone, falling backward and hitting the ground. "Ow! What's the big-"

Primal and the rest of the Maximals stood over him. Optimus had his arms folded and didn't look very happy. 'Hey, boss monkey!" the smaller transformer exclaimed. "When did you get here?"

"Just now," Optimus told him. He looked around. "Where is Dinobot?"

Rattrap turned slightly, pointing toward the Predacon base. "He's in there," he replied. "He's playing hero. Rescuing that girl all by himself."

Optimus let that information sink in and looked at Rhinox and Cheetor. "Find him," he told them. "If he needs help give it to him."

They two Maixmlas nodded and, going into standard mode, ran toward the Predacon base. When they were gone Optimus grabbed Rattrap's attention. "What were you two_ thinking_?" he demanded.

"Eh?"

"I don't know why you two came here by yourself without telling anyone but I can assure you it was a bad idea."

"Dinobot didn't want you to know," Rattrap explained. "You know that weird way he is. He said this was something he had to do himself. He said it was his problem because you'd entrusted the girl's safety to him." he shrugged. "He felt like he'd dishonored himself. He wanted to regain it."

Optimus reframed from rolling his optics. His honor. Of course. "We'd better help him."

* * *

When Megatron fired his T-rex head weapon Dinobot fired his optic lasers. Bands of green and purple met at the same time and a power match began. Yume watched with her mouth hanging open. To her it looked like neither was going to win. She hoped one would win and she hoped it wouldn't be Megatron. She'd had enough of Megatron to last her a life time. She noticed Dinobot's head staring to smoke and stared at the phenomina with a look of utter fascination.

"Yume," Dinobot said in a strained voice, bringing the girl out of her daze.

She stared at him. "Yes?" she said.

"Get out of here," he growled.

She hesitated. Much as she wanted to just run away and get out of that cursed base she felt she couldn't leave Dinobot alone. Not after all they'd been through together. "But what about you?" she asked.

"I will be fine," he said, his voice becoming more strained as he tried his best to keep the purple laser from Megatron away from himself. "Just go!"

She still didn't move. She saw how hard he was trying to hold back Megatron's blast and every second he lost another inch. She couldn't let him be killed by Megatron. She had to help him. He'd done enough for her she felt she had to pay him back.

"What are you waiting for?" he shouted. "GET OUT OF HERE!"

"No," she said. "I won't."

"Are you crazy?" he demanded. "I cannot hold him back much longer. Get out of here before I run out of energy!"

"No," she said again. "I won't leave you. After everything we've been through together I won't let it end here. I **won't **let him win." she pulled off her backpack, holding it by the straps and weighing it in her hand. "I won't let him kill you!"

"Are you mad?!"

"No," she said, stepping around Dinobot. "Just really ticked off!"

"Huh?"

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" she screamed, spinning the pack around and letting it go. The thing flew across the room and hit it's target. Megatron's face.

"GAH!" he exclaimed, falling backward and putting his hand over his face. He yanked the pack away form his face and dropped it on the floor. He glared at the girl. Only _she_ could have thrown it. "How dare you!"

"I dare," she said, running forward and grabbing the pack off the floor. She faced Megatron and kicked him. When he tried to grab her she moved out of reach and ran back to Dinobot. When she reached him he stared down at her his optics wide. "What do you have in there?"

"Algebra," she replied, slinging the pack back over her shoulder.

The two heard Megatron grunt as he got up. They looked toward him and saw him slowly getting back onto his feet. Dinobot looked down at Yume, putting out his hand to her. "I believe we should be going now," he said.

She nodded, all too eager to get out of there and took his hand. "I thought you'd never say that."

His brown fist closed around her pale hand and with a slight jerk the two ran down the hall, away from Megatron who by then was back on his feet. "You're not going to get away from me that easily, no!" he shouted, chasing after them.

Yume screamed when a bolt of purple light hit the wall beside her. Dinobot yanked her forward, nearly knocking her off balance. "Come on!" he growled.

"I can't run as fast as you," she shot back, trying to keep up with him and also keep from having him drag her. "But I'm not as tall as you."

He frowned down at her. He'd almost forgotten that. The human girl was only half his size. She was short with short legs. Running at her pace would get them killed. Suddenly she was yanked off her feet. He flung her over his shoulder, holding on her legs so she wouldn't fall. She watched Megatron as Dinboot excellerated, running as if he didn't have her extra weight to slow him down. She watched the Predacon leader as he started to trail further and further behind. She heard him screaming at them but he didn't seem to be getting closer. When he was out of sight she sighed with relief. She allowed herself to calm down, until she felt a vibration of the floor as something very heavy started stalking them.

"What is that?" she asked.

Dinobot didn't even look at her as he said, in a strangely calm voice. "Megatron."

Her eyes grew wide in horror. "Did he gain weight?" she asked.

Dinobot didn't answer. Maybe he figured the question was stupid. It didn't matter. She soon got her answer as a giant purple T-rex came stalking closer. She'd seen Megatron long enough in robot mode to get an idea of what his beast mode would be. With that knowledge she might not have been scared but all she could see was this giant mass stalking after them with all those teeth and she couldn't help feeling panicky.

"GET US OUT OF HERE!" she screamed.

"Do you think I am not _trying_?" Dinobot growled, increasing his pace. Megatron in beast mode was slightly faster than when he was in robot mode. If the Predacon did catch up with them he'd either put those teeth to good use or just trample them. Dinobot would be able to survive both attacks but the human was another story. Flesh wasn't very good armor.

The entrance to the base was only a few feet ahead. Dinobot only hoped he would reach it in time. Megatron's pounding footsteps were getting louder with every second and that could only mean he was getting closer. Of course Yume could _see_ him getting closer. She started to make that annoying whimpering sound again. He ignored it, knowing this wasn't the time or place to give her a hard time about it, though he wished she would stop.

_If I ever get out of this I hope I never see another T-rex for as long as I live, _she thought. _Or a Predacon for that matter. _Then she thought of Dinobot and changed that thought. _Well not an __**evil**__ Predacon anyway._

Megatron was closer now. To her he looked like he was smiling. "You will never get out of here alive, human, no," he told her.

"Well- We'll see about that, Barney!" she shouted at him, trying to sound confident.

Dinobot was almost at the entrance now. He turned his head slightly and took in the distance between him and Megatron. There wasn't much. Any moment and he would trample them. Dinobot tore his attention away from his former commander and, gritting his teeth, increased his speed a little more and charged toward the entrance. Just as they reached the entrance Dinobot was surprised to see Optimus, Rhinox, Cheetor, Airazor, and Tigatron pop out of what seemed like nowhere and start firing on Megatron.

Yume watched in relief as the fire power sent the Predacon back further in further with each shot. Until Megatron got aggrivated and transformed into robot mode again. He fired at them all and Yume screamed as one of the bolts barely missed her head.

Just then Dinobot made it to the entrance and dashed out. Once outside he came face to face with Optimus Primal. He gaped at his leader for a moment. Optimus frowned at him. It was easy to see that he was mad. "Optimus-" Dinobot began, getting the feeling that he was going to be chewed out.

"No time," Optimus cut him off. "We'll discuss it later." he pushed past the raptor. Megatron had almost reached the entrance, even with the Maximals firing at him. "First we have to deal with Megatron."

"I got an idea," Rattrap said. He held up two bombs. "This should slow him down." he threw them into the ship. "Now, let's get out of here."

The Maximals fled. Megatron arrived at the entrance just as the bombs exploded. "No!" he exclaimed, as they blew up in his face. "NOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

_A/N_

_I just realized I haven't updated this fic in over a month! Well I guess it's about time I did. Things are winding down now. I might only have one or two chapters left of the story. This chapter was annoying me to no ends. Something about it seems off from all the other ones. I'm not sure what. Maybe I'm just being paranoid or maybe my writing style changed again. Anyway I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I hope you stick around for the ending. I also hope everyone was pretty decent in being in character._


	25. Chapter 25

CHAPTER 25

Nobody wasted any time hanging around the Predacon base. Megatron was likely to come after them when he recovered so the group headed back to their own base, knowing the Predacon wouldn't be able to get them there. Yume was relieved. She'd spent so much time worrying that she would never make it back alive that she couldn't wait to get there. On the way back nobody said anything to each other. It was a silent convoy and Yume had felt a little nervous about it. She wondered if she had done something wrong. She didn't ask, though. She was too afraid that if she did, someone would yell at her.

_What if it's not me? What if it's just how they are? What if they leave all battles this way? Totally silent. I don't know. _It didn't really sound logical though. _That can't be it. Could it be something else? _she glanced at Dinobot. Something in his expression troubled her. _Maybe it's him. _

A short time later the group made it back to the _Axalon_ without any interference from Megatron or the other Predacons. That was a blessing in itself and the Maximals were grateful. Yume was the most relieved. She wanted nothing more than to get inside that base where nobody could harm her and just sit there for awhile. She'd been through so much the last few days that all she wanted to do was lie down and sleep for a few weeks.

Once everyone was inside the base Yume slumped into one of the chairs and sighed. Before she could get too comfortable Optimus said to her. "Could you please leave the room for a moment?"

She looked up at him. "Why?" she asked.

"I need to speak with Dinobot and Rattrap, in private," he replied. He looked at the other Maximals. "That goes for the rest of you."

Yume saw the looks on the others faces. They seemed to understand what was going on. They quickly departed, except Cheetor. He waited until the girl got up then escorted her out of the room. She glanced over her shoulder at Dinobot. His face held an unreadable expression. _What's going on?_

She looked at Cheetor. Maybe he could tell her. "Why did Optimus want to talk alone with Dinobot and Rattrap?" she asked him. "Are they in trouble?"

He looked over his shoulder then down at her before answering. "Sorta," he replied.

She cocked her head. "Sorta?" she asked. "How sorta?"

"Well they kinda went to the Predacon base without telling anyone and..." Cheetor's voice trailed off.

She didn't know what to say. The question she'd been planning on asking died on her lips. It made no sense to her. She would never understand anything. "So I guess saving me got them in trouble, huh," she said.

"It's not like that," he corrected her, putting a hand on her shoulder. "It's not because they went to save you, it's because they did it the wrong way."

"What is the wrong way to save someone?" she asked.

"I don't know."

"So this is _my_ fault?"

"No," he told her right away. "It's not _your _fault. You couldn't help Megatron capturing you."

"But if it wasn't for me Dinobot wouldn't be in trouble right now," she protested.

He got down on one knee and looked her in the eye. "You can't blame yourself for the descition he made," the young mech told her. "Dinobot doesn't always follow orders exactly. He's always been that way."

True as that might have been it didn't make her didn't feel any better. "I still feel responsible," she said, looking away. "I mean; this never would have happened if I hadn't of come here."

"Well you are here," Cheetor told her. "By accident or not. We don't know how much longer you'll be staying but that's not important right now. The important thing is to not let incidents like this one get to you. You can't keep blaming yourself for everything, especially when you're not to blame."

She nodded. He was right. She couldn't let things get to her anymore. It wouldn't do anyone any good. "Okay," she said. "You're right."

He smiled and she couldn't help smiling back.

"Want to listen in?" he asked.

Yume had been itching to do so. She nodded. "Okay."

* * *

"I don't even want to know what you were thinking.." Optimus stopped, thought a moment, then said. "Strike that. I _do _want to know what you were thinking." He faced Rattrap and Dinobot and folded his arms, frowning severely. "What were you thinking?"

"I am not to blame for this," Dinobot told him. He looked down at Rattrap. "The vermin suggested it."

Rattrap glared at him. "Thanks a lot, _buddy!" _he snapped.

"But you went along with it," Primal pointed out, cutting in before they started arguing. "And even if he didn't you would have anyway. Right?"

Dinobot wasn't going to lie. He nodded in confirmation. 'That is correct," he said. "I would have gone. But not until I figured out a plan."

Optimus shook his head. "You should have waited," he told them both. "I would have figured out a way to rescue her."

Dinobot felt he had to speak his mind about that. Usually he would have held his peace but he felt he had to say something for once. "If I had waited for you it would have been too late," he told Optimus. He pointed a finger at him. "I know you come up with plans that work but this one time it would _not _have. I know that for a fact. Megatron was not going to let the girl live no matter what you did. He knows how your mind works, Optimus. He would have known what you were planning."

Optimus frowned at him. "What are you saying?" he demanded. "That your idea was for the best?" he pointed a finger in the raptor's face. "Your plan almost got her killed as well."

"I am aware of that."

"Then next time don't do anything stupid," Optimus told him. "I know you feel as if some things I tell you to do go against your honor but sometimes I have very good reasons."

Dinobot looked away. "I know," he said in a quiet voice. "But I could not obey. Not this time."

Optimus gave him a curious look. "Why not?" he asked.

_Because she is more important to me than you'll ever know..._

His question was met with silence. "Okay, don't tell me," he said. "But not telling won't help you in any way."

Rattrap felt sorry for Dinobot. He stepped forward and got between the raptor and the leader. "Don't be too hard on him, Boss Monkey," he said. "He was just doing what he thought was right."

Optimus stared at Rattrap, surprised that the smaller robot was standing up for Dinobot. Usually he'd do the opposite. "That may be true, Rattrap," he said. "But the both of you shouldn't have left without telling anyone. What would you have done if the plan hadn't of worked?"

Neither could give an answer.

"You see?" Optimus said. "You didn't think about the consiquenses."

Both looked away.

"I," Dinobot began. "I am sorry."

Optimus just shook his head. "I want the both of you to go to your quarters," he said. "You're dismissed."

The two left together. As they walked down the hall to their rooms Dinobot looked at Rattrap and said a little grudgingly. 'Thank you."

Rattrap shrugged it off. "Don't mention it, Lizard-lips," he said. "I only said it to save my own butt."

Dinobot snorted and looked away. "I should have figured that."

When they were gone Cheetor and Yume stepped out of their hiding place. The human girl stared at the empty hall then looked up at Cheetor. "Did Optimus just ground them?" she asked.

Cheetor thought that was funny and started laughing. "Sure sounded like that, didn't it?" he asked. Then he stopped laughing as he looked at her in confusion. "What's ground?"

"It's when you get punished for doing something bad," she replied. "Being grounded means you get something taken away from you or you're not allowed to hang out with your friends." she looked down the hall again. "In this case they've been grounded to their rooms."

"Oh..." Cheetor said, nodding. "I get it now."

Yume didn't think he did.

A short silence stretched before them.

"Uh," she said, slowly inching away from him. "Mind if I go put my pack in my room now?"

He did not. He offered to go with her but she brushed his offer off, saying she wanted to be alone for a moment. He said he understood and they went their separate ways. Yume walked in the direction of the room she'd shared with Airazor for a little while then stopped. She turned her head to make sure Cheetor wasn't following her. When she was satisfied that he wasn't she changed dirtection and headed in the direction of Dinobot's quarters.

She needed to ask him something. But before she even reached the door, Optimus voice spoke over the loud speakers. "Yume, could you please return to the control room?"

_What does he want? _She wasn't happy at the delay but she decided to see what he wanted. She retraced her steps.

When she re-entered the control room she found Optimus and Rhinox looking at something that was laying on the oval table in the center room. When she stepped closer she saw it was the cube that had brought her into their dimension in the first place. She stopped and stared at it a moment.

The two Maximals must have heard her come in because they looked up. Upon seeing her, Optimus spoke. "Yume, I'm glad you came right away," he said. He gestured to the cube. "Rhinox has something to tell you."

The girl looked at the brown and green Maximal and nodded.

He explained, gesturing to the cube. "I am happy to inform you that the cube has become fully recharged," he said. "It is ready to send you home any time you want."

Good news. Or was it?

"Oh," she said, walking over to it. She reached out and picked up the cube, turning it over in her hands. She felt energy pulsating through the object. _My way home,_she thought. _I can return home with this now. _She looked up at the Maximals. They were waiting for her to say something. She opened her mouth but no words came out. What _could_ she say? Anything she said might be a lie and they'd probably be able to tell if it was.

She set the cube back down onto the table. "I'm glad," she finally said in a small voice. "I thought I'd never be able to get home. I... thank you." she looked back down at the cube, feeling sick at her own words. She felt she was lying to them. She didn't know why she felt that way. She should be happy that she could go home now. She should be happy that she'd finally be able to escape Megatron's wrath and the disapproving looks and words of Dinobot.

_Dinobot. _

Just the thought of him made her stomach tighten up. She'd never be able to see him again. She didn't know why that thought made her feel so horrible. She was scared of him and he hated her but... they were friends and he didn't feel that way so much anymore. _How would he feel if I left?_

She felt a hand on hers and looked up. Optimus was looking at her curiously. "You don't have to leave now, if you don't want to," he began.

"You're right," she agreed, dropping her gaze once more. "I would never leave without saying good bye."

"That's-"  
But she was no longer listening. She pulled her hand out from under his and turned away from the table, retreating back down the hall and out of sight. She didn't know if her voice would be able to stay even, she had to get away before it broke.

The two watched her go then Rhinox voiced what Optimus was thinking. "She doesn't want to go," he said.

* * *

Yume was headed back to Dinobot's room. She wanted to talk to him before she made any kind of descition. The thought of leaving gave her mixed feelings but she felt that the Maximals wanted her to leave. She couldn't blame them. She was nothing but a burden to them. They'd be better off without her being such a problem.

She stopped in front of Dinobot's door. She stared at the drab gray door for a moment then reached out and pressed the button that opened it. The door swung open and she looked inside. Dinobot was sitting on the chair in front of his computer not really doing anything. When he heard his door open he looked up.

His eyes met Yume's. He could tell right away that she was upset about something but he didn't move. He only asked. "What? What do you want?"

She stepped into his room, uninvited and walked over to the computer desk. "I can go home now," she said when she was facing him.

The news brought no reaction from his part and, even though she had never expect it to, it still hurt a little. She plowed forward whether he listened or not. "The thing that brought me here can send me back," she explained. "I can leave anytime I want."

"Then why have you not?" he asked directly.

She looked away, playing with her hair. "I wanted to say good bye..." she said not meeting his eyes.

"Good byes only make leaving harder," he told her.

She could tell by the tone in his voice that he didn't want to talk about it. Didn't want to talk to_ her_. She couldn't blame him. If she left he'd be lifted from his duty of protecting her. He wouldn't have her as a burden anymore. He would be free again.

"What should I do?" she asked.

He looked at her a little impatiently. "You should go home," he told her. "You do not belong here. It is best if you return to your rightful time and place."

_But what __**is **__my rightful time and place? _She did not voice this question to Dinobot. He would not give her the answer she needed or wanted. "You want me to return home don't you?" she asked.

He looked away from her. His answer was completely honest. "Yes I do," he told her. "I would be happy if you returned home. It is not safe for someone like you to be here. You cannot defend yourself and rely on others for protection. You are useless and we cannot always come to your rescue when you run into trouble." he looked back at her, his red optics holding no emotion at all and his voice a cold monotone. "You being here causes more harm than good, especially for me. I want you to leave and never come back."

The words sunk in and they hurt. The hurt more than she thought they would. She did not know why they hurt her so much. She should be relieved at his words but she wasn't. "You_do_ hate me don't you?" she asked, her voice holding an accusing note no matter how hard she tried to make it not. "You always have, ever since you met me."

A stab. The expression on his face became cold and he ground his teeth, showing off his fangs. She took a step back, knowing she'd gone too far. Dinobot did not strike her or attempt to instead his voice lowered and his optics grew cold. "Get out of my room," he ordered her, pointing to the door. "Just get out and do not come back."

She stepped back and then turned away, rushing out of the room and not looking back. _He's right, _she thought, holding in tears she refused to spill. _I should just go home. I won't say good bye. I'll just leave. _

Dinobot watched her go. He sighed and shook his head, looking away from her retreaing figure.

"That was a little harsh, don't you think?" a voice asked.

He looked up, half expecting to see Rattrap standing there. His mind formed a come back for any ill timed words the rat might say. But to his surprise it wasn't Rattrap, it was Airazor. She was standing in the doorway her hands at her sides and just looking at him. He looked away from her, not liking the look in her eyes.

"It is none of your business," he told her.

"I believe it _is," _she corrected. "Yume is my friend and I don't want her hurt." she stepped into the room and stayed there until he looked at her again. "You helped her make up her mind," she said. "She'll leave now, but you hurt her."

"It's for the best," he told the falcon. "She does not belong here and sometimes the truth hurts."

She nodded. "Yes, sometimes the truth can hurt," she conceded. Her next words hit him like darts. "You don't want her to go."

He glared at her. "What makes you think that?"

"I can tell," she told him. She walked over to him and leaned forward him, her face stopping inches from his own. "You want her to leave because you don't want to see her get hurt," she said. "You care about her more than you'll admit." he looked away and she cocked her head. "I'm right aren't I?" he still refused to answer. She went on whether he was listening or not. "She's grown on you just as much as she's grown on the rest of us."

He would not admit it. She never thought he would. She shook her head and moved away from him. "You don't have to tell me," she said. "You never tell me anything but now you can't tell her either." she turned to go but looked back long enough to say. "You could have stopped her."

He looked away and she left disappointed. He wasn't going to admit anything. That was just the way he was, but what she didn't know and he refused to admit it to himself was that every word she said was exactly right.

_I do care about her. I care enough to just let her leave. let her go back to the place where the only hurts she'll ever feel are mental._

The thought was supposed to be a comforting one but it didn't help him feel any better. Not at all.

_A/N_

_I updated weee! This fic is almost over. I think I got one or two chapters to go. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I'll try to make the next update quicker. Until then... Sayonara!_


	26. Chapter 26

CHAPTER 26

Optimus and Rhinox were a little surprise when Yume came back into the control room and said. "I've made up my mind. I'm going to go home."

"All right," Optimus said after a moment of shocked silence. "If that's what you_ really_want."

"It is," she confirmed, firmly walking up to the table and picking up the cube again. She stared at it a minute then turned away, holding it in her hand. "It's best if I just go."

She started out of the room but he grabbed her arm. She looked up at him curiously. "Aren't you going to at least say good bye to everyone?" he asked.

That question did not help her keep her mind made up. She shook her head vigorously. "No," she told him. "Nobody would want to say good bye to me anyway."

"Cheetor would," Rhinox spoke up.

Yeah, there was Cheetor. The big brother she never had. She remembered their first encounter. She thought he was hitting on her but she knew he wasn't. He was just being friendly. He'd be very upset if she didn't tell him good bye. "I'll say good bye to him," she told the two Maximals. "But nobody else."

Optimus watched her worriedly as she left the room to search for the younger bot. "What happened?" he asked out loud.

"It seems something upset her," Rhinox told him. "I wonder what it was."

"Or _who_ it was," Optimus added.

The green bot looked at his surperious curiously. "What do you mean?"

"I mean somebody must have said something to her to upset her and that's why she's choosing to leave," he told the other bot. "It's not that hard to figure out who it was."

Rhinox knew who he meant. "But why would he want to upset her?" he asked.

'So she would go home," Optimus replied. "He never wanted the responsibility of taking care of her anyway so upsetting her so she'd want to go home would be something he'd do."

"But you can't prove that." he pointed out.

"No I can't," Primal admitted. "But it just seems like the only logical explanation."

Rhinox digested that a moment then asked. "Are you going to ask him about it?"

He shook his head. "No, it wouldn't do any good."

000000000

"You're _leaving_?!" Cheetor gaped at the human girl, not believing what he was hearing. "For real?"

She nodded.

"But why?"

She looked away. "I think it is best if I leave," she told him. "I'm only a burden staying here anyway."

"You are not a burden!" he exclaimed. "Who told you that?"

"Nobody," she admitted. "I just know."

"But I don't want you to go," he told her, leaning down and putting a hand on her shoulder.

She didn't want to go either but she had to. She shook her head at his words, refusing to change her mind. "Please," she said. "You're only making this harder for me."

"But I thought we were friends," he said. "I thought you liked it here."

"I do but I have to go," she repeated herself. "Do you really want to spend the rest of your life protecting someone? Someone who can't even defend herself properly."

"I don't mind," he said.

She shook her head again. "But _I_do," she said. "I don't want to spend the rest of my life relying on the protection of others. It would just get tiresome after awhile and I know you'd all start to regret it."

"That's not-" he started to say but she cut him off. "Yes, it _is_ true," she said. "I know who it is. Nothing will change it."

"But if you go you probably will never be able to come back," he tried.

She nodded. 'That's for the best. I'm sure," she told him then turned away. "I'm sorry."

Cheetor watched her go, wanting to say more, wanting to try to change her mind, but nothing he would have said would have changed it. As she went the conclusion of her behavior came to mind and he got angry. _Dinobot. This is his doing. _he turned his back on her retreating figure and stalked down the hall, rehearsing everything he was going to say to the raptor when he saw him again. _I hope you're happy now! Everything is ruined thanks to you! If she leaves it will be all your fault! Why do you always do this to me? Why are you so selfish? You're going to regret this one of these days. You'd better have a good explanation for this! I hate you._

* * *

As it turned out it wouldn't be long before and ran into Dinobot. At that moment the raptor was leaving his own room and nearly ran into the young Maximal one the way out. The moment the young Maximal saw him he couldn't stop himself. He rushed at the taller robot and slammed him against the wall. Dinoibot, taken by surprise, stared down at the cheetah bot for a moment then, getting over his shock, demanded. "What are you doing?!"

"It's all your fault!" Cheetor shouted in anger, holding the other robot against the wall. "It's all your fault!"

"What is my fault?" he wanted to know. "You are not making any sense."

"She's leaving and it's all your fault!" Cheetor snapped, glaring up at the raptor. "You chased her away and she's never coming back."

"How is that_ my _fault?"

"I _know _it is," Cheetor growled. "You never wanted her here in the first place and now that she has a way to leave, you forced her to go." he pounded on the former Predacon's chest. "It's all your fault!"

"Why should it matter?" he demanded. "If she had stayed it would not have changed things. She would still get herself in trouble and she'd still need saving."

"So?" Cheetor asked. "What's wrong with that?"

"Would you want to spend the rest of your life protecting something that cannot even protect itself?"

"She's not and "it" she's a she!" the young Maximal corrected. "And I wouldn't have minded. She's my friend and I could teach her how to use a weapon. I could teach her how to protect herself."

"It is not that easy," Dinobot snarled. "She is a creature made of flesh. She wounds easily. If you did decide to teach her to defend herself you'd have to be very careful not to harm her."

Cheetor growled at him then let him go. He took a step back and pointed a finger in his face. "You are responsible for her wanting to leave," he yelled. "You might want her to leave just so that you won't be responsible for her anymore but I don't think she wanted to. I think she wants to_ stay_. She considered you a friend. You might not want to admit it but she looked up to you and still does. You were important to her because you did all you could to protect her, orders or no orders. Did you ever consider how she might have felt about _you_? How grateful she must be for all you did for her? Are you going to tell me that that meant nothing to you? That _she_ means nothing to you?"

The younger Maximals didn't give him time to answer. "You know, just forget I even said anything. Because it's not doing any good." he turned to go but shot over his shoulder. "I hope you're happy." then stalked away.

Dinobot watched the angry youth go. He admitted to himself that he was not happy with what he had done, but what could he do and what did the cat know anyway? Maybe when he got a little older he'd understand that doing what you wanted wasn't always the right thing to do. Sometimes you had to give up on or let go of something to truely be happy. It couldn't always go your own way. But then again... Dinobot wasn't sure _what _he wanted. Every part of him insisted that her leaving was the right thing to do but another part argued with the fact. It insisted that her leaving was the wrong thing to do. Because _he_ did not want her to go.

He shook his head, trying to scatter that thought. No, that wasn't the reason. He'd never admit it if it was.

_But you should still talk to her, _a voice in his head insisted. _Just talk to her before she leaves. You might still have time. You need to tell her. If you don't she'll never know. _

"But what should I tell her?" he asked himself. "What should I even say?"

_How about the truth? _

"She cannot handle the truth."

_How do you know that?_

"I just do."

_Stop lying to yourself. You've been doing that all your life. Show your feelings for once. Be honest with her and yourself. Don't let her leave like you let everyone else. Haven't you said good bye enough in your life time? Just be honest and tell her the truth. It can't hurt anyone. _

* * *

Yume headed back to the control room and toward the elevators. It was time for her to go so she wasn't going to make anymore stops. When she entered the room she was surprise to find everyone there, except Dinobot. She stopped to stare at them a moment, not sure how to react.

Primal spoke first. "Yume, before you go, we wanted to at least say good bye."

She recovered and took a step back. "Why?" she asked. _You're only making this harder. _

"Because we want to," Optimus replied. "In the time you were here you've become like part of our family. If one of us had to go we would tell them good bye as well."

_Part of the family? _She shook her head again. Yeah, they were only making this harder. "Please don't do this," she begged. "I just want to leave."

Airazor gave the girl a worried look. "Yume.."

She ignored the falcon. "Just let me leave," she said again, refusing to let herself cry in front of them. She walked past them, feeling like a jerk as she did so, and climbed onto the elevator. As the elevator took her out of the ship she looked at the Maximals one last time and gave them a slight wave._Good bye my friends._

* * *

Once she was gone Cheetor said, angrily. "This is all Dinobot's fault!"

"You don't know that," Optimus told him. "It wasn't his choice to make."

"It's _stil_l his fault."

And just then who should enter the room but the one Cheetor was mad at. Dinobot. When he entered the room he looked at them with a look that could only be urgency. His optics met Optimus. "Where is the girl?"

"She just left," he replied.

That upset him visably. "Then I am too late," he said, looking away.

"No, you're not," Airazor spoke up. "She went outside. If you hurry you can catch her."

Dinobot, acting totally unlike himself, nearly bolted to the elevator and didn't even wait for it to come back up. He jumped down the shaft and out of sight.

When he was gone Optimus looked at Cheetor. The youth stared back with no reaction.

"It looks like he's going after her after all," Airazor said, though nobody heard her.

* * *

"Yume, wait!"

The girl stopped walking and turned around, half expecting to see Cheetor coming after her. She was more than a little surprised to see Dinobot running toward her. She watched him, confused. Why was he chasing her? It didn't seem to be something someone like him would do. She was also surprised that he was bothering to use her name.

She waited for him to catch up with her then said, looking up at his dark blue face. "Yes?"

He said nothing for a few moments. It seemed like he was trying to figure out what to say then he said in a faulty voice. "You should not leave if you do not want to."

Well this was surprising. First he said he wanted her to go and now he's telling her she doesn't have to go if she doesn't want to? _This is confusing. Make up your mind. _She looked at him curiously. "Are you telling me this because you don't want me to go?" she asked him.

He looked away. He was never good with expressing how he felt, not when it came to something like this. "I want you do to what you want to do," he told her. "Not what I want you to do." he met her gaze. "If you want to leave then leave but if you do not want to leave then stay."

"So if I want to stay you don't have a problem with it?" she asked him. "You won't get angry and scold me for wanting to stay?"

He refused to look at her. "It does not matter."

"Yes it _does_!" she cut him off.

Now he did look at her. "What do you mean?"

"I will not stay if you don't want me to stay," she said, folding her arms. "I don't want to stay where I'm not wanted. If I stayed here just because I want to and nobody else wants me to I'd just be selfish. I don't want to be selfish."

For a moment he said nothing. What could he say to that? He knew she wanted to stay and he himself didn't really want her to go... "It would not be selfish," he said. "Some of the Maximals do not want you to leave."

"Some?"

"Most."

"You included?"

He relunctantly he nodded. "You could say that," he said. "I know you might not believe that because it seemed that I was chasing you away before but I do not really want you to go."

"Why?"

He smirked at her when he used the words. "You grew on me."

She couldn't help blushing at that comment. "So you really don't want me to leave?" she asked.

"I want you to do what you want to do," he told her again. "If you do not want to leave then do not leave, however; if you stay, do not expect I or the others to always be there to protect you should you get into trouble." he folded his arms. "You should never rely on others to get you out of trouble all the time. Sometimes it is best if you got out of them yourself."

She nodded at the complete truth of that statement. She looked down at the cube in her hands. _It's all charged up and ready to go. If I leave now I probably won't ever be able to come back even if I wanted to. But if I stay and want to leave later what would happen then? Will the cube power down before I decide to come home? What if I get stuck here for the rest of my life? What's more important? What do I really want? _She closed her eyes and thought about it for a moment.

If she returned home she'd just have to put up with the same things she always had. Her parents, the blonds at school that picked on her because she liked to draw robots, school work, disipline problems. They were just petty problems and she knew if she stayed here her problems would just be worse. She'd constantly be worrying about being killed by the Predacons. _But I don't mind that. I don't kind that one bit. For some reason it just seems better and it's not like I have anything to come home to. My parents don't notice when I'm not there anyway. _She shook her head and opened her eyes. She looked up at Dinobot. He was still there, watiing for an answer. _At least if I stay there will be only one thing I have to worry about. _

"Well?" he asked.

"I've made up my mind."

_A/N_

_HAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAA! I'll just leave you hanging! _

_I've never been good at writing parts like this so if it seems out of character or a little strange I apologize. _


	27. Chapter 27

CHAPTER 27

Cheetor sat in one of the chairs in front of the ships control panel and tapped his fingers impatiently on the console. "What's he doing out there?" he asked out loud. "Why aren't they back yet? Is he trying to make her leave more than he already has?"

Optimus, who was standing on the other side of the oval table, frowned at the younger robot. "Cheetor, I don't think he went out there to make sure she wouldn't change her mind."

"Then _why_ did he?"

Optimus remembered the look on Dinobot's face when the raptor had come into the control room and asked where the girl was. "I think he's going to try to make her stay."

"Dinobot would never do something like that."

"You'd be surprised at some of the things he does." Optimus said, remembering that stupid flower. "He's always been unpredictable."

"Yeah," Cheetor agreed, standing up. "But that hasn't always been a good thing."

Optimus had to agree. Dinobot was still a Predacon even though he'd changed fractions. Though Primal didn't have to worry about him killing everyone in their beds he did sometimes worry about the raptor changing his loyalties again. "That doesn't really have anything to do with this," he said.

Cheetor gave him a curious look. "What do you mean?" he asked.

Primal explained. "He might not want to admit it but he cares for the girl. Why else would he have gone to the Predacon base to rescue her the way he did?"

Cheetor had an answer ready. "Because Rattrap made him do it."  
Optimus shook his head. "Dinobot doesn't let Rattrap make him do anything," he told him. "He went because he _wanted_ to do, not because Rattrap convinced him to."

"If he cares so much about her why did he make her want to leave?"

"I'm only guessing but maybe he wanted her to leave _because _he cares about her," Optimus explained. "He's never been very good at showing his softer side and maybe that was his only way of showing the girl that he cared."

"By making her leave?"

Optimus shook his head. "Some people are like that."

"Well I wish he wasn't."

"Don't say things like that, Cheetor," Optimus scolded. "If he acted different than he acts now you wouldn't be satisfied with that either."

"I would be if he didn't make Yume leave!"

"What's done is done and you can't change it." primal pointed out logically.

Cheetor got up. "Sometimes I wish I could," he muttered, stalking out of the room.

* * *

"So what have you decided?" Dinobot asked.

The girl looked away from him and stared off into the distance for a moment. "I decided to stay," she said finally.

He gave her a long, hard look. "Is that what you really want?"

"Yes," she said firmly. "I don't want to leave now. I want to stay here." she looked back up at him. "and I don't care if you get mad."

"I never said I was going to get mad," he corrected her. "I admit I am not completely satisfied with your decision but I am relieved."

She cocked her head. "Relieved?"

He admitted. "I did not want you to go."

"For real?"

"For real."

She digested that for a moment then did something totally unexpected. She jumped at him and hugged him around the waist, her feet dangling a few inches off the ground. He stared down at her, uncomfortable with her sudden show of affection.

"Uh..." he stammered. "You do not have to do that."

"But I want to," she said, looking up at him. "I'm happy."

Happy. Of _course_ she was happy. He'd finally admitted to her that he cared about her. All this time she thought he hated her. Knowing he didn't made her feel a whole lot better.

Finally he grabbed her arms and gently pried her loose. She looked up at him and their eyes met. "I believe we should head back now," he told her. "The others are probably wondering what is going on." he let her arms got and turned away. "I think it would be best if we returned and let them know that you are staying."

She nodded, knowing he was right and followed him. _Won't Cheetor be happy to see I didn't leave, _she thought.

* * *

Optimus heard the elevator and looked toward it. A moment later the door opened and Dinobot stepped out next to him was Yume. Optimus gaped at the girl, surprised to see her still here.

She looked at him and met his optics. She looked at Dinobot then stepped out of the elevator and walked over to Optimus. She held out her hands and handed him the cube. "I've decided to stay," she told him. "Could you put this somewhere safe? Somewhere where it can't be activated by accident."

Optimus took the cube. He stared down at it a moment, his mouth hanging open. He looked back at the girl. "Is this what you want?" he asked her, just to be sure.

Her smile told him everything he needed to know. "This is exactly what I want," she told him. "More than anything."

He had to ask. "And if you changed you mind?"

Her smiled didn't leave. She looked down at the cube in his hands. She tapped it lightly. "That's what I want you to put this in a safe place," she replied, lifting her eyes and looking at him again. "In case I ever change my mind."

"Okay," he said, closing his hand around the object.

She bowed slightly. "Thank you," she said before turning away. She walked past Dinobot then broke into a run, heading down the hall.

Optimus watched her go then looked up at Dinobot who also had his head turned in the girl's direction. When he noticed Optimus looking at him he turned his head and demanded. "What?"

"What did you say to her?" Primal wanted to know. "How did you make her change her mind?"

Dinobot smirked. He didn't give the entire explanation. It was best if he just said it in as few words as possible. "I only told her the truth," he replied. "I did not make her change her mind." he turned to go. "That was her decision. Nothing I said made her do it."

Optmus watched him go as well. _You don't have to admit it, Dinobot, _he thought, smiling slightly._But you didn't want that girl to leave to begin with. I knew you had a soft spot for her. It took something like this for you to realize it..._

* * *

"Cheetor!" Cheetor heard his voice being called and sat up on his bed. He'd gone to his room to sulk and to be alone so he could mourn Yume's leaving in peace. He knew she wasn't dead but he wouldn't see her ever again so he felt that way. He also wanted to stew over Dinobot making her leave. "Where are you, "Cheetor?!"

He was surprised to hear the voice he heard.He thought he'd never hear it again. _It couldn't be. _He got off his bed and ran out of his room. He had only run a few steps when he spotted her running toward him. When he saw her he stopped and stared.

She spotted him and stared as well. For a moment they just stared at each other then he said. "I thought you'd left."

She shook her head. "I changed my mind."

"Why?" he wanted to know. "I thought you'd made up your mind."

"No," she told him. "I hadn't. I was just waiting for the right person to tell me that he didn't want me to leave."

"Who?"

She met his eyes. "Dinobot."

The answer surprised him. "_Dinobot_?!"

"Yes."

He couldn't believe it. He felt pangs of jealousy. Why did she care what _Dinobot_ said? Cheetor was the first person to become friends with her. Why didn't_ his _words count? "You wanted Dinobot to tell you he wanted to stay?" he gasped.

"What's wrong with that?" she wanted to know. "I'm staying aren't I?"

"Yeah but,_ Dinobot_?"_Why is it always Dinobot?!_

Yume took in the way the young mech was acting and asked. "Are you jealous?"

He stared at her, his mouth hanging open. Was it that easy to tell? "No!" he finally said after a moment, not meeting her gaze. "Why would I be jealous? It's not like I have a crush on you or something..."

"I never said that," she told him, putting her hands on her hips. "And I wouldn't have thought that either if you hadn't of said anything."

Cheetor stuttered an excuse and refused to look at her. Finally he changed the subject. "Are you really going to stay?"

"As long as you will have me," she told him. "As long as you all want me to stay." she took off her backpack and rummaged through it. "If you all decide that me staying with you is too dangerous then I will leave. But if you never decide I am, then I will stay."

"Even if we return to Cybertron?" he asked her.

"Cybertron," she said, thinking about it for a moment. She stopped what she was doing and looked up at him. Dinobot had told her about that planet. The planet of robots. _What would a planet like that be like? _ "I've always wanted to go to another planet. It might not be a bad idea."

"Really?" he looked startled at her words. "You wouldn't mind going back to Cybertron with us if we ever get off this planet?"

She shook her head. "Why should I?"

"Never mind," he said then stepped toward her and gave her a hug, being careful not to hug her too tight lest he accidently squash her.

Yume was more than a little surprised at his forwardness and she stood there for a moment, not doing anything. "Cheetor?" she said.

He let her go and looked away, looking embarressed. "Sorry," he said. "I was just happy that you decided to stay and-"

"You don't have to say anything," she told him, returning her attention to her backpack. She needed something to do. "I understand what you mean. It just took me by surprise, that's all." She took her sketch pad out of her back pack and flipped through it. "I'm glad you're happy that I'm staying. It just shows that my staying was a good idea." she stopped on a certain picture and smiled. "To tell the truth I didn't really want to go home anyway."

"Why not?"

"I have my reasons," she said, tearing the picture out of her pad and handing it to him "They're not really important."

He took the picture and she turned away. She took a few steps then stopped. "Oh, Cheetor," she said, looking over her shoulder at him.

"Yes?"

"It's okay if you like me," she told him. "I don't think it's weird."

He stared at her, his mouth hanging open. She smiled at him and walked away. Cheetor was too shocked to call her back or try to correct her. He looked down at the picture she'd given him. It was a very detailed sketch of him and had the words. "Thanks for caring" written in fluid handwriting near the bottom left hand corner.

_Yeah, I care, _he thought, looking up to watch her disappear. _More than you'll ever know._

* * *

Sometime later Yume and Dinobot went for a walk. The girl had told everyone that she was staying and they all seemed happy with her decision. Now she just wanted to be outside. Dinobot was still her bodyguard as long as she chose to stay so he had to go with her, even though he didn't really want to go outside again. He still remembered the last time she'd wanted to go for a walk. They'd been attacked by Inferno. So far though none of the Predacons had showed their faces and that was a relief though Dinobot stayed on alert.

They came to a meadowed area and Yume sat down on the grass, hugging her knees close to her chest. "I guess that's it," she said after a moment.

The raptor looked down at her curiously. "What is it?" he asked her.

She looked over her shoulder and up at him. He was standing over her, his whole body tense and his hand on his sword. She got the urge to tell him to relax but thought against it. He had plenty of reasons to be tense and she couldn't blame him. Only a few days ago she would have been tense as well, just being near him, but now she didn't feel tense. She knew he wouldn't do anything and she trusted him. For his question she didn't really have an explanation. "I guess I meant that. that's it for now," she said. "That until I change my mind, you're all stuck with me and I'm happy with what I decided." she looked away. "I have you to thank for it, you know. I'm glad you told me what you did. But like I said whatever you had decided I would have done what you wanted."

Yume would always confuse him. He would never understand her. He gave her a look."Why?"

"Because I respect you," she explained. "You're almost like a father to me." she looked up at him again. "Even if you don't think of it that way..."

Would she never run out of things to say that surprised him? Her words made him look away from her. A father? A _father_? He thought she was scared of him. He thought she just wanted to be friends. Now she looked at him as a parental figure. How should he react to something like that? _At least she did not say she had a different kind of feeling for me, _he thought. _I would not have known what to tell her if she said something like that. _

She was still looking at him. "Dinobot?"

He looked back at her. "I... yes?"

"What are you thinking about?"

"It is not important." he joined her on the ground, his figure still towering over her much smaller from even while sitting. "What made you say such a thing?"

"Because it's true," she told him. "That's how I think of you." she looked him over. "Does it bother you?"

"No," he told her. "I just did not expect it."

She gave him a look over understanding and stood up. "I guess I've been saying a lot of unexpected things lately," she commented, putting her hands on her hips. A breeze blew up and blew her hair out of her face. Her gray eyes focused on a slow moving cloud. "Maybe I'll regret my decision but until that day comes I'll be happy with what I did." she looked down at him. "I just have one worry."

He looked up at her and his optics locked with her organic eyes. "What would that be?" he wanted to know.

"Predacons," she replied, folding her arms and turning her gaze back to the sky. "Now that I have decided to stay I have to worry about Predacons. Megatron wants me dead I know that and Tarantulas wants to experiment on me." she looked back at him. "How should I deal with that."

He stopped up, his big frame towering over her smaller one. "Let me worry about that," he said, putting his hand out her shoulder. "Megatron cannot harm you or take you away again if you are ready for him."

She looked at his hand. Three fingers and two thumbs. A strange hand. One she'd never really paid any attention to. "How will I be ready?"

His next words were a surprise. "I can teach you how."

She looked up at him. "Really?"

He nodded.

She turned around and faced him. "Okay! I'm ready!," she said. "I don't want to waste any time."

He smirked. "Then let us begin."

_**THE END**_

_A/N_

_Strange way to end a story but I couldn't think of any other way. The whole thing drove me crazy because I didn't want to end it but it's so long that I knew I should. Yes I will be making a sequel I just don't know when to begin it. This fic was kinda set between "Before The Storm" and "Other Voices" having said that should the sequel begin some time before, during, or after the whole quantom surge thing?_

_Yes, Cheetor has a slight crush on Yume. I'm sorry if my not making DB and Yume lovers disappointed some of you people but I never really intended for that to happen. For some weird reason people want me to make Depth Charge like her but I might not ever get that far unless I skip episodes from season 2 in the sequel. If you can help me in anyway with the next part of the series let me know. I appreciate it. _

_Sorry for the lack of description in this chapter. I kinda slacked off near the end. I hope you enjoyed reading my fic and keep an eye out for the sequel. I'll try to get the first chapter written as soon as I can. _


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